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Left Front Front de gauche | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Spokesperson in the Assembly | André Chassaigne |
| Spokesperson in the Senate | Éliane Assassi |
| Founded | 18 November 2008 |
| Dissolved | 25 November 2018 |
| Ideology | Left-wing populism[1] |
| Political position | Left-wing |
| European affiliation | Party of the European Left |
| European Parliament group | European United Left–Nordic Green Left |
| Colors | Red |
| Website | |
| placeaupeuple | |
TheLeft Front (French:Front de gauche, FG or FDG) was a Frenchelectoral alliance and apolitical movement created for the2009 European elections by theFrench Communist Party and theLeft Party when a left-wing minority faction decided to leave theSocialist Party, and theUnitary Left (Gauche Unitaire), a group which left theNew Anticapitalist Party. The alliance was subsequently extended for the2010 regional elections and the2012 presidential election and thesubsequent parliamentary election.
In 2012, its constituent parties were, in addition to the two aforementioned parties, theUnitarian Left (Gauche Unitaire), theFederation for a Social and Ecological Alternative [eo;fr] (Fédération pour une alternative sociale et écologique, FASE),Republic and Socialism [fr;zh] (République et socialisme),Convergences and Alternative (Convergences et alternative), theAnticapitalist Left (Gauche anticapitaliste), theWorkers' Communist Party of France (Parti communiste des ouvriers de France, PCOF) andThe Alternatives (Les Alternatifs).
The Left Front was born as an electoral coalition between theFrench Communist Party (PCF) and theLeft Party (PG) for the2009 European elections.
The PCF's support had declined in years prior to the formation of the Left Front, and it hit a historic low in the2007 presidential election, in which the PCF candidate, national secretaryMarie-George Buffet, won 707,268 votes (1.9% of the vote.) TheLeft Party (PG) was founded in 2008 bySocialist Party (PS) senatorJean-Luc Mélenchon, a longtime leader of the PS' left-wing. Mélenchon, followed by PS deputyMarc Dolez quit the PS in the wake of theReims Congress (2008), criticizing the PS' alleged shift towardseconomic 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, particularlyOlivier Besancenot'sNew 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".[3][4] The PCF's call was primarily intended for parties such as the PG, but also the NPA orJean-Pierre Chevènement'sCitizen 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 the2010 regional elections), a significant dissenting minority within the NPA, led byChristian Picquet'sUnitary Left, supported such a common list and split from the NPA to join the new Left Front.[5]
Negotiations with Chevènement's MRC also failed,[6] but a pro-alliance minority split from the MRC to createRepublic and Socialism [fr;zh] and endorse the Left Front. TheFederation for a Social and Ecological Alternative [eo;fr],The Alternatives [br;cs;fr] and the far-leftWorkers' Struggle also rejected partaking in the alliance.
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%).[7]
For the European elections, the Left Front proposed:[8]
The Left Front and theAlliance 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 5MEPs. 2 of them were members of the PCF, one from the PG, one independent and one from theReunionese 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,[9] 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.[10]
All components of the FG pronounced themselves in favour of a continuation and expansion of the alliance for the2010 regional elections, with the intention of attracting other left-wing parties (particularly the NPA). The PCF, PG, and GU[11] 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 22regions in metropolitan France andCorsica. 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 wereBrittany,Burgundy,Champagne-Ardenne,Lorraine, andLower Normandy.[12] The PCF alone ran an autonomous list in Corsica, led byDominique 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 thePays de la Loire andPicardy 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" deputyMaxime Gremetz. Finally, notwithstanding the NPA's refusal to back the FG, the NPA ended up running common lists with the FG inLanguedoc-Roussillon,Limousin andPays-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 conservativeAlsace (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.[13] 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 ofEurope 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.[14]
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.[14]
The FG signaled its intention to run as many common candidates as it could in the2011 cantonal elections. The PCF, despite its decline nationally, had maintained a strong presence at the local level, including inGeneral Councils (cantonal elections elect the General Councils of everyDepartment). The PCF's objective in 2011 was to hold on to the presidency of theAllier andVal-de-Marne, and regain theSeine-Saint-Denis (a historic PCF stronghold lost to the PS in 2008) and theCher. 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.[15]
The component parties of the FG decided to run a single, common candidate in the2012 presidential election.Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of the PG, officially announced his candidacy on 21 January 2011.[16] He received the support of theUnitary 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 deputyAndré Chassaigne obtaining 36.8% and Emmanuel Dang Tran, an "orthodox" Communist, taking only 4.1%.[17][18]
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; supportingsocial enterprise throughgovernment 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 agreen, 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 amaximum wage). Businesses who created jobs, paid higher wages and/or provided job training would receive tax cuts. Mélenchon also proposed to convene aconstituent 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 sinceGeorges Marchais had won 15% in the1981 presidential election. Furthermore, Mélenchon proved successful at coalescing voters to the left of the PS behind his candidacy, in2002 and again in2007 support for the 'radical left' on the PS' left had been split between many dissident candidacies.
Mélenchon did not explicitly endorse PS candidateFrançois Hollande for the runoff, but he implicitly supported the PS candidate - and eventual winner - by calling on his supporters to defeat incumbent PresidentNicolas 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.[19]
The FG, which was defending 19 seats in thelegislative 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-rightNational Front (FN) to the right-wingUnion for a Popular Movement (UMP).[20] Negotiations between the different parties ultimately failed and no agreement was reached.[21]
On 12 May, Mélenchon announced his candidacy in thePas-de-Calais' 11th constituency in order to run against a nemesis of the left,Marine Le Pen, in her political base.[22]
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 deputyPatrick 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 deputyPatrice 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).
With the support of left-wing deputies from overseas departments, the FG was able to save its parliamentary group, theDemocratic and Republican Left (GDR), in theNational Assembly.
The following parties are member of the FG:
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.[23]
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,[24] 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.[25] 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.[26][27] Some political analysts believe thatfar-left is used by the right-wingUnion 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-rightNational Front (FN).[28]
Mélenchon and the FG's platform in the 2012 presidential election was broken up into nine overarching 'themes'.[29]
The FG also supportssame-sex marriage,same-sex adoption,voting rights for resident foreigners,euthanasia, and constitutional recognition of a woman's right to have anabortion.
| Election | Candidate | First round | Second round | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |||
| 2012 | Jean-Luc Mélenchon | 3,984,822 | 11.10 | - | - | Lost |
| Election year | Leader | 1st round | 2nd round | Seats | +/− | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |||||
| 2012 | Jean-Luc Mélenchon | 1,792,923 | 6.91% | 249,498 | 1.08% | 10 / 577 |  8 | Opposition |
| Election year | # of votes | % of overall vote | # of seats won | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 1,115,021 | 6.48 (#5) | 5 / 72 |  |
| 2014 | 1,200,389 | 6.61 (#6) | 4 / 74 | 1 |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
