French left presents itself as the only way to block the far right

As France prepares for a second round of voting on Sunday that could bring a far-right government to power, the New Popular Front coalition has become the “only alternative” to the National Assembly, far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon said on Sunday. But centrist critics say the left-wing alliance is too divided and too extreme to be a major challenger to the far right.

The balance of power in the lower house of parliament could have profound implications for France and Europe. “France is now entering a new political era that will be very different from what it has been before,” said Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for Europe at Eurasia Group, a political risk consultancy.

While it is unclear whether any alliance or party will win a majority on Sunday, the parliament is likely to consist of a large far-right faction, a sizeable left-wing bloc and a significantly reduced centre.

When he called early elections last month, Macron assumed that the possibility of a far-right government would galvanize his supporters and strengthen his party’s mandate. But he appears to have underestimated the French left, which — despite deep divisions — was able to cobble together a broad alliance that could cost Macron’s alliance crucial votes.

“He doesn’t matter anymore. He’s done,” the 65-year-old said left-wing voter Mathilde Boukhelif, a resident of Creil, a working-class town north of Paris.

The left-wing alliance candidate, Amadou Ka, returned to the campaign trail Monday morning. He won 31 percent of the vote in the first round, trailing the National Rally candidate, who won 43 percent but still qualifying for the second round. Macron’s candidate was ineligible, with only 19 percent of the vote. (To qualify for the second round, a candidate must win the support of at least 12.5 percent of registered voters in the first round.)

The new Popular Front is made up mainly of two moderate left-wing parties — the center-left Socialist Party and the Green Party — as well as two far-left movements, Mélenchon’s France Unbowed and the Communist Party. The alliance wants to lower the retirement age, which Macron raised last year, and significantly increase government spending on social welfare, the environment and healthcare.

But Macron’s supporters say the left’s promises will push France into a debt crisis. Priorities differ widely among members of the left-wing alliance, which was formed largely out of shared frustration with Macron and concern about the rise of the far right.

Ka, who is backed by the far left, believes an ambitious programme is needed to reverse the impact of Macron’s pro-business agenda in places like Creil, where government policies have led to underfunding of hospitals and cuts in unemployment benefits, he said. Despite such criticism, Ka hopes to win support from centrist voters on Sunday.

Macron has, however, at times portrayed the far left as as dangerous as the far right, particularly criticising the France Unbowed party.

Last month, Macron alleged that the leftist alliance included parties that promoted anti-Semitism or otherwise violated French republican values. “Things are simple,” Macron said. “We have unnatural alliances at both ends of the political spectrum that agree on almost nothing.”

Boukhelif, a left-wing voter from Creil, said it was the way Macron had portrayed the left in recent weeks that mobilised voters like her on Sunday.

Ka dismisses the constant criticism of Macron’s camp as “fake news and caricatures,” but fears it could hurt the left’s electoral chances. Macron and his allies must realize, he said, “that the real threat is the far right, not the left.”

Macron and his allies are now under pressure to back far-left candidates over far-right ones in run-off races or withdraw their candidates in favor of a leftist opponent who would have a better chance of defeating the National Rally. (Mélenchon said Sunday that left-wing candidates would withdraw from races in which Macron’s candidate or another challenger would have a better chance of defeating the National Rally.)

So far, there have been mixed signals from the presidential camp. Le Havre Mayor Édouard Philippe, who leads a center-right party allied with Macron, on Sunday put National Rally and France Unbowed in the same category, saying their candidates should be prevented from winning.

Macron’s outgoing prime minister, Gabriel Attal, said Macron’s centrist candidates would only withdraw from the races in which they finished third if the remaining opponent in the National Assembly was “another candidate — who, like us, defends the values ​​of the republic.”

Rahman, the political analyst, said only a “handful” of candidates could be deemed too extreme for Macron’s alliance to support. He expects a high degree of mobilisation to prevent far-right victories in individual constituencies on Sunday.

But if the far-right wins another big victory this weekend, Macron’s allies could be blamed for their reluctance to support left-wing candidates. So far, it has been mostly left-wing candidates, including France Unbowed, who have dropped out of the second round to minimize the chances of a far-right victory, according to French daily Le Monde.

Bruno Rodriguez, a 61-year-old resident of Creil, said he would vote for the “National Front” — the original name of the National Assembly until Marine Le Pen changed it to move away from its anti-Semitic and racist roots.

But he fears that Macron could end up giving his full support to the left in the second round, which would thwart the National Assembly’s victory. “Macron is afraid,” he said. “Because we — the people — want real change.”