The far-left Mélenchon took advantage of public frustration with traditional politics and his own strong performance in the April presidential election to forge a left-wing alliance that could win a large share of seats in this month’s National Assembly elections and overthrow the of Macron. “There is a very strong feeling against Macron, who was disappointed during the campaign. “Melanson brings together all these frustrations,” said Virginia Martin, a professor of French politics at Kedge Business School. Macron will need a friendly parliament to pass legislation that he says will continue reforms aimed at moving France to full employment and boosting its economy, including raising the official retirement age from 62 to 65 to preserve the country’s costly pension system. Every president elected in the last two decades – including Macron in his first term – was rewarded in the next parliamentary election with his party winning a majority of lawmakers, avoiding a counterproductive “cohabitation” with a hostile parliament that often blocks the United States. . faced with an unfriendly Congress. However, opinion polls suggest that this year’s vote on June 12 and 19 is likely to be a close two-way race between the Macron Ensemble! (“Together!”) An alliance of centrist parties and Mélenchon’s radical Nupes, the New Ecological and Social Popular Union. After an early vote in the first round for foreign nationals, Nupes and Ensemble! will face each other for the second round in nine of the 11 overseas constituencies. “It smells good,” Melanson said last week about the chances of his candidates.

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Even if Macron’s alliance wins as expected, he may fail to win an absolute majority in the 577-seat assembly and may have to rely on other parties such as center-right Les Républicains to pass laws, polls show. The 70-year-old Mélenchon was expected to retire after this year’s presidential race – his third – but instead returned after taking advantage of the collapse of the old left-wing parties. He now demands that Macron be named prime minister if his alliance gains control of the assembly. The Nupes are made up of five parties, including Mélenchon’s La France Insoumise (Unbowed France) as well as the Socialists, Communists and Greens, whose candidates won less than 5 percent of the vote in the first round of the presidential election. Melanson came third in the first round with 22 percent of the vote. “What we offer is another vision of the world, of society,” he told supporters. “I am not saying that we will create a paradise overnight, but we will put an end to hell.” Melanson argues that Macron was an economic disaster that led to a collapse of public services. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, in the center, crosses the Clain River during a campaign in Poitiers, western France, on June 2 © Yohan Bonnet / AFP / Getty Images The Nupes manifesto consists of 650 meters which include raising the minimum wage, lowering the retirement age to 60, freezing commodity prices, “massive” investments in renewable energy sources and re-introducing property taxes. Many of these measures are rejected as inaccessible and are viewed with concern by French and foreign investors. Finance Minister Bruno Lemerre, in an interview with Le Parisien, compared Melanson to the late Venezuelan president, dismissing him as “Milk Chavez”. However, the alliance’s innovation and the slogan “Melanson is prime minister” have galvanized the young left. David Lando, a 25-year-old adviser, had never been to Melanson’s meeting until the alliance was formed. “More than during the presidential campaign, I feel that something important is happening in our political life,” he told a meeting in Paris, calling the new left bloc a “historic moment” for France. Macron has been slow to enter the fray, condemning the Nupes and Le Pen National Rally protectionist and Eurosceptic manifestos as a recipe for chaos and worship in Russia, and pointing out that he is not obliged to name Mélenchon as prime minister, although he should be elected. supported by a parliamentary majority. “I want the French to make a firm choice in the aftermath of the presidential election – for a stable and serious parliamentary majority to protect them from crises and to act for the future,” he told a news conference in the region.

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Melanson is even admired by his opponents for his rhetorical and political skills, but they remain major challenges to his alliance, largely because many voters prefer center-right rather than far-right candidates. The alliance is also fragile due to deep divisions between its parties over issues ranging from the EU and nuclear energy to immigration and Islam. Some left-wing candidates even refuse to withdraw from the election despite the nationwide distribution of seats in the alliance between the parties.

“If Melanson becomes prime minister, I’m not sure he will call [Socialist leader] “Olivier Faure should be consulted before violating EU rules,” said Yann Guével, secretary of the Socialist Party in Britain, which backs an opposition candidate against Nupes. However, the power of Melanson’s left-wing alliance has taken politicians by surprise. Even Eric Zemmour, the anti-immigrant warrior who failed to oust Le Pen as France’s most prominent far-right figure, admitted that Mélenchon had done “very well” in assembling the left in a way he had failed to do with the right. . . “The union of the left around Melanson and the Islamist left will easily win more than 100 seats and will clearly be the main force of opposition to Macronism,” Zemour said at a recent election rally.