N. Peter Kramer’s Weekly Column
In many big towns and cities, Socialists and centre-right Republicans are tempted to make electoral pacts on their outside flanks to beat the opposition in next Sunday’s run off of the French mayoral elections. But alliances with the Rassemblement National (RN) on the far right or La France Insoumise (LFI) on the far left carry big risks as well as opportunities. Electorally these alliances make sense but the flipside is the damage to the mainstreamers’ reputation if they cosy up to parties that they normally condemn.
Paris, le grand prix, is a good example. Emmanuel Gregoire of the Parti Socialiste (PS) scored well in the first round, but among the qualifiers for round two is LFI’s Sopia Chikirou. Gregoire has vowed not to make any pact with LFI but that sacrifice could cost him the victory. On the other side is rightwing Rachida Dati. She has vowed not to form a pact with the far-right Sarah Knafo. But without the Knafo votes, Dati can hardly win.
In the past the dilemma was confined to the RN, regarded as beyond the pale. But this year, the ostracism of the LFI is a new feature in French politics. Under its leader, Jean-Luc Melanchon, LFI formed an alliance with PS, Greens and Communists to give the left a strong showing in the last legislative election in 2024. But the pact has unravelled. The last straw was the murder of a far-right student in Lyon last month, allegedly by a far-left gang containing an LFI parliamentary assistant.
On Sunday evening PS leader Olivier Faure ruled out any ‘national’ accord with LFI. Significantly, he did not rule out ‘local’ arrangements with LFI. For the right, and not only to the right, this reeks of hypocrisy and double-standards.
It is clear, in France as elsewhere, politics is more and more determined by what happens on the outer flanks!
