“Every morning in the world
are of no return.”
Pascal Quignard
I write from Paris, on Monday morning, after the fierce municipal elections in France. As with us, and in a panorama that extends throughout the so-called Western world, three blocks face each other here: an extreme right that is growing in numbers, which has not, however, seen its consecration in the main cities and continues to achieve its successes more in the South of France; a republican right, which hesitates between an alliance with extremists (as Ciotti did, who won the Chamber of Nice) and maintaining its independence and its (oh, so forgotten) Gaullist roots; and, finally, a left, which hesitates between alliance with Mélenchon’s extreme left and the independent presentation of its projects and values.
The more positive results achieved by the left that said no to Mélenchon’s rebels (Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Strasbourg, where the socialists went so far as to make an alliance with the right, condemned by the party leadership) and the results, not so brilliant, but encouraging, of the republicans who did not follow Ciotti’s route of total fusion with the extreme right, make us think that a more serene and consistent discourse could make its way within the different and opposing political forces that dispute the power in France.
Because the big loser has been Macron and his attempt to hide the differences between left and right, to pursue a right-wing policy disguised as so-called modernism and to proclaim the absence of real alternatives in politics and society. That the republican right regains some strength, taking, without the extreme right, Toulouse, Limoges and Bordeaux and that the left, without Mélenchon, manages to conquer the large urban centers, such as Paris, Marseille, Lyon or Lille, are encouraging signs of life.
Let us not claim victory before its time: the party of Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella “progresses without conquering”, in the expression of a political analyst. Figaro. But its progression in the number of votes is undeniable, even if it does not achieve the biggest objectives of the Rassemblement National.
The analyzes of these elections have mostly been made from the point of view of what they could announce for the 2027 presidential election and how they will influence the strategies of parties and personalities with a view to these elections. The former prime minister and ex-macronist Édouard Philippe, by winning the election in Le Havre outside the major parties, won his place on the list of potential candidates.
From my personal point of view, what I feel fits into the headline of Liberation: “A relieved left.” Relief is what I feel and solidarity with the French socialists. And a final doubt: against the guidance of the Party leadership, the socialist Johanna Rolland won in Nantes with the support of Mélenchon’s France Insoumise. And this victory by Johanna Rolland, who dared this alliance, leads us to conclude that, in municipal elections, local, personal and work-related factors often come to override the central directives of the parties.
I also like to see (despite the drift of many to the right, like Ciotti) the president of the Republicans, rejecting “the disorder into which the RN program would precipitate us” (Rassemblement National, party of Le Pen and Bardella). The left-right binomial will always continue to be missed.
To the memory of Lionel Jospin
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
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