Behind scenes of agreement in principle between LFI and PS, after long and difficult negotiations

on 70 constituencies, the agreement will be presented in an emergency to a national council of the PS. He completes, after those with EELV and the PCF, the construction of the new popular union of the left for the legislative elections.

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It was undoubtedly the most difficult of the agreements made by the “rebellious”. A week ago, themselves did not believe it: getting along with the Socialist Party (PS) after fourteen years of disagreement. However, after two days and two nights of almost uninterrupted discussion, it is done. The “rebellious” and the socialists agreed, on the night of Tuesday May 3 to Wednesday May 4, on an agreement in principle relating to 70 constituencies. The discussions will resume Wednesday to flatten a few points outside the constituencies, but the hardest part is made.

The agreement, which succeeds those concluded with Europe Ecologie-les Verts and the French Communist Party, will be submitted to a National Council of the PS, convened in an emergency. On April 20, this same council had given the PS negotiators mandate to discuss with rebellious France, to 160 votes for, 75 against, 10 abstentions. About sixty members of the National Council had not participated in the vote. The agreement could therefore pass, but the discussions promise to be heated, given the internal sling that arouses the prospect of an alliance.

Poker and pressure strokes will have been frequent in these negotiations. Tuesday afternoon, Manuel Bompard then Eric Coquerel (LFI) succeeded himself in front of the cameras to insist: “The PS struggles to integrate its result in the presidential election,” said the first. The second accused them of being “too greedy”. In negotiations, the socialists hoped for a hundred constituencies, LFI sometimes made extremely low counter-proposals. If he made the most modest scoring of the major leftist parties to the presidential election, the PS holds the greatest number of leavers: 25 deputies, including two ultramarine, to which are added three related elected officials. The discussions, relatively fluid on the program despite profound differences on Europe, have become arduous when evoking places.

internal explanations

The 15 e district of Paris, for example, has long remained a blocking point. The “rebellious” refused to consider the ex-deputy Lamia El Aaraje as an outgoing on the grounds that his election was canceled by the Constitutional Council (for reasons independent of his will). Faced with her, Danielle Simonnet, the only representative “rebellious” to the Paris Council, historic of the movement and twice candidate for the legislative elections. It was M ^{me simonnet who finally won in the discussion.}