Former French President Francois Hollande announced his candidacy for the snap legislative elections after declaring support for the far-left “New Popular Front” alliance, according to Le Figaro. After leaving office seven years ago amidst challenges posed by Islamic terrorism and economic hardship, Hollande has chosen to join the leftist party in representing the so-called “New Popular Front” in Corrèze. The decision comes as an exceptional response to the perceived threat of extreme right-wing National Rally of Marine Le Pen, which is predicted to win the snap elections recently called by President Emmanuel Macron after being defeated in the European Parliament elections earlier this month.
The leftist alliance, named after the 1936 alliance of French leftist parties led by Socialist Prime Minister Léon Blum, consists of several factions including the Socialist Party, Les Écologists and the French Communist Party. The coalition is working with far-left LFI party led by radical leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who has been compared to Bernie Sanders in the US or Jeremy Corbyn in the UK and accused of antisemitism and affiliation with radical Islamists. Critics argue that this alliance is necessary to confront the rise of the populist right-wing National Rally.
Despite support from prominent left-wing figures such as former President Hollande, there has been significant backlash against the New Popular Front. Former Socialist Prime Minister Manuel Valls criticized the alliance with LFI, calling it a “miserable electoral agreement” and a “moral mistake.” Critics argue that working with Mélenchon is ethically compromising due to his past comments about anti-Semitism and ties with radical Islamists.
As leftist factions united in the New Popular Front, critics of Mélenchon were purged from their respective parties. Le Monde newspaper criticized this move as a reflection of LFI’s authoritarian and sectarian practices. This has caused dissent within the alliance and further strained relations between its members.