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This article is missing information about the activities of the Left Front from 2012 to 2018. Please expand the article to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page.(February 2017)
The PCF's support had declined in years prior to the formation of the Left Front, and it hit a historic low in the 2007 presidential election, in which the PCF candidate, national secretary Marie-George Buffet, won 707,268 votes (1.9% of the vote.) The Left Party (PG) was founded in 2008 by Socialist Party (PS) senator Jean-Luc Mélenchon, a longtime leader of the PS' left-wing. Mélenchon, followed by PS deputy Marc Dolez quit the PS in the wake of the Reims Congress (2008), criticizing the PS' alleged shift towards economic liberalism.
The PCF's strategy since 2003 had been to actively reach out to social movements, trade unions, left-wing activists, and the plethora of small left-wing parties to the left of the PS, particularly Olivier Besancenot's New Anticapitalist Party (NPA). In October 2008, and again at the PCF's XXXIV Congress in December 2008, the PCF issued a call for the creation of a "civic and progressive front".[2][3] The PCF's call was primarily intended for parties such as the PG, but also the NPA or Jean-Pierre Chevènement's Citizen and Republican Movement (MRC). Although Besancenot was not receptive to participation in the new PCF-PG alliance (he required guarantees on complete independence from the PS and expanding the alliance to the 2010 regional elections), a significant dissenting minority within the NPA, led by Christian Picquet's Unitary Left, supported such a common list and split from the NPA to join the new Left Front.[4]
Out of the seven constituencies in which the FG nominated lists, three were led by members of the PCF, three by members of the PG, while one was led by someone unaffiliated with either party. The lists included PCF members (43.5%), PG members (33.5%) and figures from social movements or political associations (23%).[6]
The Left Front and the Alliance of the Overseas won a combined 1,115,021 votes (6.47%), improving by 0.59% on the PCF's 2004 result. In all, they elected 5 MEPs. 2 of them were members of the PCF, one from the PG, one independent and one from the Reunionese Communist Party (PCR).
Nationally, the FG performed better than Besancenot's NPA, which obtained 840,833 votes (4.9%) and no seats. While the PCF's Marie-George Buffet appraised the result as "satisfying" and called on the continuation and expansion of the FG,[8] the PG lamented the left's disunity by noting that a common list with the NPA could have won over 11% and up to 12 seats.[9]
2010 regional elections
All components of the FG pronounced themselves in favour of a continuation and expansion of the alliance for the 2010 regional elections, with the intention of attracting other left-wing parties (particularly the NPA). The PCF, PG, and GU [10] announced, in a joint statement, their intention to create a permanent liaison committee for the FG, and build a shared platform with the goal of entrenching the FG as a political force. Negotiations with the NPA, once again, failed. The NPA demanded no alliances with the PS in the runoff and rejected participation in any PS-led regional executive, whereas the PCF supported second round alliances with the PS.
The FG ran autonomous and independent lists in the first round in 17 out of 22 regions in metropolitan France and Corsica. In 5 regions however, PCF members voted against the formation of autonomous lists and opted to back the PS following the first round, these regions were Brittany, Burgundy, Champagne-Ardenne, Lorraine, and Lower Normandy.[11] The PCF alone ran an autonomous list in Corsica, led by Dominique Bucchini. The PCF's decision to endorse the PS incumbents following the first round in these five regions led to internal dissent within the party, and was met with the PG's opposition. The PG chose to run dissident, autonomous left-wing lists with the backing of the NPA in Burgundy, Champagne-Ardenne, and Lower Normandy; PCF dissidents in Brittany, Burgundy, and Lorraine chose to join common lists with the PG, and, in Burgundy, the NPA. Inversely, some Communists in the Pays de la Loire and Picardy decided to support the PS list by the first round. In Picardy, the FG also faced a rival list, led by the former PCF "orthodox" deputy Maxime Gremetz. Finally, notwithstanding the NPA's refusal to back the FG, the NPA ended up running common lists with the FG in Languedoc-Roussillon, Limousin and Pays-de-la-Loire.
The Left Front won 1,137,250 votes (5.84%) nationally, and an average of 7.5% taking into account only those regions where the FG ran. The FG won at least 4% in every region it ran in, excepting traditionally conservative Alsace (1.9%), and the FG won over 10% in four regions - Auvergne (14.2%), Limousin (13.1%), Nord-Pas-de-Calais (10.8%), and Corsica (10%). The FG merged their lists with the PS in all regions where they could do so (those where they obtained over 5%) with the exception of Languedoc-Roussillon, Limousin, and Picardy. In Limousin, the FG list did not come to an agreement with the PS list, hence it did not withdraw. In the runoff, Christian Audoin's FG-NPA list won 19.1%.
The FG's components won 124 seats in regional councils (in addition 2 seats for the NPA), 92 (90 excluding the NPA) of which were won on FG lists themselves. The PCF won 95 seats, 61 on FG lists and the rest on PS or other lists. The PG won 17, and the GU took 7.[12] Compared to the 2004 regional elections, in which the PCF had won 185 seats, this represented a net loss. The PCF's leadership conceded that the FG had not won as many seats as they had hoped for, but they imputed the blame on FG's decision to run independently (in 2004, the PCF ran fewer autonomous lists, hence winning more seats by allying by the PS by the first round) as well as the growing weight of Europe Ecology – The Greens (EELV) within the left-wing bloc. The PG's national secretary, Éric Coquerel, said that while the FG came out weakened numerically, they came out strengthened politically.[13]
However, what was considered a relatively poor result, in addition to the PCF's seat losses, created tensions and recriminations within the FG. PCF tendencies which opposed the leadership, and were cooler on the FG (namely, the "orthodox" and "rénovateurs") signaled their disapproval with the PCF leadership.[13]
2011 cantonal elections
The FG signaled its intention to run as many common candidates as it could in the 2011 cantonal elections. The PCF, despite its decline nationally, had maintained a strong presence at the local level, including in General Councils (cantonal elections elect the General Councils of every Department). The PCF's objective in 2011 was to hold on to the presidency of the Allier and Val-de-Marne, and regain the Seine-Saint-Denis (a historic PCF stronghold lost to the PS in 2008) and the Cher. Depending on the department, some candidates were supported by the NPA or the MRC.
Nationally, PCF and PG candidates won 8.9% of the vote together, and over 10% only in those cantons where the FG had a candidate. The FG became the second largest force on the left, surpassing the Greens (EELV). Although the PCF held on to the Allier and Val-de-Marne, it fell short in the Seine-Saint-Denis and the Cher although it enjoyed net gains of one seat in both of these departments. Overall, the PCF and PG won 121 seats (116 PCF, 5 PG); in 2004, the PCF alone had won 7.8% and 108 seats. The FG's creation and the political dynamic it created halted the PCF's decline.[14]
The component parties of the FG decided to run a single, common candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of the PG, officially announced his candidacy on 21 January 2011.[15] He received the support of the Unitary Left (GU) and the FASE. On 5 June, the PCF's national delegates approved, with 63.6% against 36.4%, a resolution which included an endorsement of Mélenchon's candidacy as the Front's candidate. On 16–18 June, the PCF's members voted in favour of Mélenchon's candidacy in an internal primary. He won 59%, with PCF deputy André Chassaigne obtaining 36.8% and Emmanuel Dang Tran, an "orthodox" Communist, taking only 4.1%.[16][17]
Mélenchon was later described as the "surprise" or "revelation" of the campaign, after his standing in polls jumped from around 5-7%, in the fall of 2011, to 14-15%, in the last weeks of the campaign. His open-air meetings were successful, attracting crowds of up to 120,000 people in Paris (18 March) and Marseille (14 April).
He proposed raising the minimum wage to €1,700; setting a maximum wage differential of 1 to 20 in all businesses, so that employers wishing to increase their own salaries would also have to increase those of their employees; setting social and environmental norms which businesses would have to respect in order to receive public subsidies; supporting social enterprise through government procurement; taxing imports which did not meet certain social and environmental norms; and reestablishing 60 as the legal retirement age with a full pension. The FG's platform endorsed "ecological planning" with the goal of building a green, sustainable economy, backed by a "green rule" (règle verte) to be entrenched in the Constitution. Mélenchon's platform supported raising taxes for the wealthy and creating a 100% tax rate for those with an income over €360,000 (thereby creating a maximum wage). Businesses who created jobs, paid higher wages and/or provided job training would receive tax cuts. Mélenchon also proposed to convene a constituent assembly to draft a constitution for a "Sixth Republic".
Mélenchon won 11.10%, or 3,984,822 votes, in the first round. Given his slight underperformance compared to the last polls, alongside Marine Le Pen's overperformance, the result was viewed as a relative disappointment by many FG members. Nonetheless, others in the alliance sought to underline Mélenchon's success. Indeed, by taking 11% of the vote, he won the best result for a PCF-affiliated candidate since Georges Marchais had won 15% in the 1981 presidential election. Furthermore, Mélenchon proved successful at coalescing voters to the left of the PS behind his candidacy, in 2002 and again in 2007 support for the 'radical left' on the PS' left had been split between many dissident candidacies.
Mélenchon did not explicitly endorse PS candidate François Hollande for the runoff, but he implicitly supported the PS candidate - and eventual winner - by calling on his supporters to defeat incumbent President Nicolas Sarkozy. On 24 April, the FG refused to participate in common meetings with other left-wing parties to support Hollande's candidacy but called for a mass demonstration on 4 May to defeat Sarkozy.[18]
The FG, which was defending 19 seats in the legislative elections, ran candidates in almost every constituency in France (560 out of 577 seats). About three-quarters of the FG's candidates (418) were members of the PCF, while 102 were members of the FG.
The FG called on other left-wing parties, including the PS and EELV, to form a 'common front' in about 60 constituencies where they foresaw a high risk that the left would be absent from the runoff, which they feared would instead oppose the far-right National Front (FN) to the right-wing Union for a Popular Movement (UMP).[19] Negotiations between the different parties ultimately failed and no agreement was reached.[20]
In the first round, FG candidates won 1,792,923 votes (6.91%), a result which was significantly lower than Mélenchon's result on 22 April. Although the FG's result was better than the PCF's result in the last legislative elections in 2007 (where it had won 4.3%) the FG nevertheless did unexpectedly poorly, with a number of FG incumbents falling into second place behind the PS in their constituencies. The PCF and PS having almost always applied a policy of 'mutual withdrawals' (désistement républicain) in runoff elections (whereby the weaker left-wing candidate drops out in favour of the stronger left-wing candidate); the application of this rule meant that the FG had only 9 incumbents who could be reelected. In the Pas-de-Calais, Mélenchon was defeated in the first round, placing third behind the FN and PS with 21.5%.
Notwithstanding the tradition of mutual withdrawal, incumbent deputy Patrick Braouezec in the Seine-Saint-Denis did not withdraw, forcing the FG to un-endorse him. Nevertheless, this was an isolated case - all other FG candidates who had qualified for the runoff but placed second behind a left-wing candidate dropped out; the few PS candidates in a mirror situation did likewise. In the runoff, the FG came out with 10 seats - reelecting 9 incumbents and gaining one seat, with former PCF deputy Patrice Carvalho[de; fr; ru] (1997–2002) winning back his old seat in the Oise. Of the FG's 10 deputies, 7 were members of the PCF, 2 from the FASE, and one from the PG (Marc Dolez, who has since left the PG but still supports the FG).
French Communist Party (PCF): The PCF was the largest party in the FG in terms of members, officeholders, and financial resources. The PCF was founded in 1920.
Left Party (PG): Jean-Luc Mélenchon's party describes itself as a left-republican and eco-socialist party. It was founded in 2008.
The Alternatives[br; cs; fr]: Joined in late 2012 after having previously opposed membership.
The Alternatives, GA, C&A, the FASE, R&S and GU along with social movement activists are currently undergoing a regrouping process in the eventuality of founding a new organisation.[22]
Ideology
Political position
An ideologically heterogeneous coalition, the FG has been described as a communist, left-wing, radical left, anti-liberal left, anti-capitalist left, or far-left party.[by whom?][citation needed]Jean-Luc Mélenchon himself has said that he does not consider himself of the far-left,[23] and the far-left label has primarily been used for strategic reasons by the right. Marc Dolez, a former PG deputy who left Mélenchon's party in December 2012 while remaining active in the FG, argued that Mélenchon and the FG's strategy of attacking the PS has cornered the FG on the far-left.[24] Political journalists and analysts including Vincent Tiberj and Laurent de Boissieu recused the far-left label for the FG, although some far-left parties are part of the alliance.[25][26] Some political analysts believe that far-left is used by the right-wing Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) for strategic reasons, namely for the purposes of attacking the PS and justifying potential rapprochements between the UMP and the far-right National Front (FN).[27]
Platform
Mélenchon and the FG's platform in the 2012 presidential election was broken up into nine overarching 'themes'.[28]
"Sharing the wealth and abolishing social insecurity" – banning market-based layoffs (licenciements boursiers) for companies which make profits, raise the minimum wage (SMIC) to €1,700, setting a maximum wage differential of 1 to 20 in all businesses, right to retirement with a full pension at 60, defending public services, stopping public sector spending cuts (RGPP), setting a maximum wage at €360,000, instituting a 35-hour workweek.
"Reclaiming power from banks and financial markets" – changing the European Central Bank's policy to favour job creation and public services, controlling financial speculation, raising the capital gains tax and the solidarity tax on wealth (ISF), abolishing fiscal loopholes and privileges, taxing corporations' financial revenues, creating a 'public financial pole' to reorient credit towards jobs, innovation and sustainable development.
"Ecological planning" – NationalizingÉlectricité de France, Gaz de France and Areva to create a publicly owned energy sector, creating a national public water service, a new transportation policy promoting public transportation and taxing the transportation of non-vital merchandise.
"Producing differently" – a new model of development and economic growth which respects the environment and individuals, redefining industrial priorities, new rights for employees, creating a Gross National Happiness indicator.
"Convene a constituent assembly for the Sixth Republic" – convening a constituent assembly, repealing the 2010 local and regional government reform, proportional representation in all elections, reducing presidential powers and strengthening parliamentary powers, guaranteeing judicial and press freedom.
"Repealing the Lisbon Treaty and creating another Europe" – repealing the Treaty of Lisbon, opposition to the European Fiscal Compact, proposing and adopting a new European treaty which would 'prioritize social progress and democracy', reforming the statutes of the European Central Bank.
"To change the course of globalization" – withdrawing French troops from the war in Afghanistan, French withdrawal from NATO, recognizing the independence of a Palestinian state within 1967 borders, creation of a Tobin tax to finance international development and cooperation, debt forgiveness for low-income countries.
"Prioritizing human emancipation" – creating jobs in public education, spending 1% of GDP on arts and culture, doubling investment in research.
The French Communist Party is a communist party in France. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit with The Left in the European Parliament – GUE/NGL group.
The Radical Party of the Left is a social-liberal political party in France. A party in the Radical tradition, since 1972 the PRG has been a close ally of the major party of the centre-left in France, the Socialist Party. After the 2017 presidential and legislative elections, negotiations to merge the PRG with the Radical Party began and the refounding congress to reunite the parties into the Radical Movement was held on 9 and 10 December 2017. However, a faction of ex-PRG members, including its last president Sylvia Pinel, split from the Radical Movement in February 2019 due to its expected alliance with La République En Marche in the European elections and resurrected the PRG.
The Democratic and Republican Left group is a parliamentary group in the National Assembly including representatives of the French Communist Party (PCF) as well as leftist parties with bases in Overseas France.
The New Anticapitalist Party is a far-left political party in France founded in February 2009. The party launched with 9,200 members and was intended to unify the fractured movements of the French radical Left, and attract new activists drawing on the combined strength of far-left parties in the 2002 presidential elections, where they achieved 10.44% of the vote and 7% in 2007.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon is a French politician who was a member of the National Assembly for Bouches-du-Rhône's 4th constituency from 2017 to 2022. He led the La France Insoumise group in the National Assembly from 2017 to 2021. Mélenchon was elected as a member of the European Parliament (MEP) in 2009 and reelected in 2014. He has run for president of France three times. In 2022, he came within 1.2 percentage points of reaching the second round in France's two-round voting system.
The Left Party is a left-wing democratic socialist political party in France, founded in 2009 by Jean-Luc Mélenchon and Marc Dolez after their departure from the Socialist Party (PS). The PG claims to bring together personalities and groups from different political traditions; it claims a socialist, ecologist and republican orientation.
Regional elections were held in France on 14 and 21 March 2010. At stake were the presidencies of each of France's 26 régions, which, though they do not have legislative autonomy, manage sizable budgets.
René Revol is a French politician and a member of the Left Party (PG). He is mayor of Grabels, a working-class suburb of Montpellier (Hérault) since 2008.
Legislative elections were held in France on 10 and 17 June 2012 to select the members of the 14th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic, a little over a month after the presidential election run-off held on 6 May.
Philippe Poutou is a French far-left politician, former trade unionist and car factory worker. He was the New Anticapitalist Party's candidate in the presidential elections of 2012, 2017 and 2022, in which he respectively received 1.15%, 1.09% and 0.76% of the vote.
Anticapitalist Left was a French organisation (2011–2015), member of the Left Front from 2012 to its dissolution in 2015.
The Socialist Party is a centre-left to left-wing political party in France. It holds social democratic and pro-European views. The PS was for decades the largest party of the "French Left" and used to be one of the two major political parties under the Fifth Republic, along with the Rally for the Republic in the late 20th century, and with the Union for a Popular Movement in the early 2000s. It replaced the earlier French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO) in 1969 and is currently led by First Secretary Olivier Faure. The PS is a member of the Party of European Socialists, Progressive Alliance and Socialist International.
The French Communist Party has been a part of the political scene in France since 1920, peaking in strength around the end of World War II. It originated when a majority of members resigned from the socialist French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO) party to set up the French Section of the Communist International (SFIC). The SFIO had been divided over support for French participation in World War I and over whether to join the Communist International (Comintern). The new SFIC defined itself as revolutionary and democratic centralist. Ludovic-Oscar Frossard was its first secretary-general, and Ho Chi Minh was also among the founders. Frossard himself resigned in 1923, and the 1920s saw a number of splits within the party over relations with other left-wing parties and over adherence to the Communist International's dictates. The party gained representation in the French parliament in successive elections, but also promoted strike action and opposed colonialism. Pierre Semard, leader from 1924 to 1928, sought party unity and alliances with other parties; but leaders including Maurice Thorez imposed a Stalinist line from the late 1920s, leading to loss of membership through splits and expulsions, and reduced electoral success. With the rise of Fascism this policy shifted after 1934, and the PCF supported the Popular Front, which came to power under Léon Blum in 1936. The party helped to secure French support for the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and opposed the 1938 Munich Agreement with Hitler. During this period the PCF adopted a more patriotic image, and favoured an equal but distinct role for women in the communist movement.
Legislative elections were held in France on 11 and 18 June 2017 to elect the 577 members of the 15th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic. They followed the two-round presidential election won by Emmanuel Macron. The centrist party he founded in 2016, La République En Marche! (LREM), led an alliance with the centrist Democratic Movement (MoDem); together, the two parties won 350 of the 577 seats—a substantial majority—in the National Assembly, including an outright majority of 308 seats for LREM. The Socialist Party (PS) was reduced to 30 seats and the Republicans (LR) reduced to 112 seats, and both parties' allies also suffered from a marked drop in support; these were the lowest-ever scores for the centre-left and centre-right in the legislative elections. The movement founded by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, la France Insoumise (FI), secured 17 seats, enough for a group in the National Assembly. Among other major parties, the French Communist Party (PCF) secured ten and the National Front (FN) obtained eight seats. Both rounds of the legislative election were marked by record low turnout.
La France Insoumise is a left-wing political party in France. It was launched in 2016 by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, then a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and former co-president of the Left Party (PG). It aims to implement the eco-socialist and democratic socialist programme L'Avenir en commun. The party utilises the lower case Greek letter phi as its logotype.
The Republican and Socialist Left is a socialist political party in France. It was founded on 3 February 2019 after the merger of the Alternative for a Republican, Ecologist and Socialist Program (APRÉS) and the Citizen and Republican Movement (MRC) of Jean-Luc Laurent and Jean-Pierre Chevènement. APRÉS had been founded in October 2018 by Emmanuel Maurel and Marie-Noëlle Lienemann after their departure from the Socialist Party and was close to La France Insoumise.
Legislative elections were held in France on 12 and 19 June 2022 to elect the 577 members of the 16th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic. The elections took place following the 2022 French presidential election, which was held in April 2022. They have been described as the most indecisive legislative elections since the establishment of the five-year presidential term in 2000 and subsequent change of the electoral calendar in 2002. The governing Ensemble coalition remained the largest bloc in the National Assembly but substantially lost its ruling majority, resulting in the formation of France's first minority government since 1993; for the first time since 1997, the incumbent president of France did not have an absolute majority in Parliament. As no alliance won a majority, it resulted in a hung parliament for the first time since 1988.
The New Ecological and Social People's Union was a left-wing electoral alliance of political parties in France. Formed on May Day 2022, the alliance included La France Insoumise (LFI), the Socialist Party (PS), the French Communist Party (PCF), The Ecologists (LE), Ensemble! (E!), and Génération.s (G.s), and their respective smaller partners. It was the first wide left-wing political alliance since the Plural Left in the 1997 French legislative election. Over 70 dissident candidates who refused the accord still ran.
The Federation of the Republican Left is a French political coalition of several small centre-left to left-wing parties.
The New Popular Front is a broad left-wing electoral alliance in France. It was launched on 10 June 2024 to contest the 2024 French legislative election following the gains of far-right parties in the 2024 European Parliament election in France. The Front stood in opposition to both Ensemble, the presidential camp of Emmanuel Macron, as well as the far-right National Rally.
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