The electoral cooking

Fabien Roussel, the leader of the Communists, stated on Sunday, April 5 that he “refuses” the outstretched hand of La France insoumise for a joint candidacy for the 2027 presidential election.

The head of the Communists, Fabien Roussel, rejected on Sunday, April 5 the offer from LFI for the 2027 presidential election, believing that there was a “break” with Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s party, which he considers “the worst candidate for the second round.”

The coordinator of La France insoumise, Manuel Bompard, had called on Thursday for an alliance with the ecologists and the Communists for a joint candidacy in the presidential election, proposing an agreement “on the program” and on “the candidates for the senatorial and legislative elections.”

Fabien Roussel explained that Manuel Bompard was making him “laugh” by asking them to rally behind their candidate, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, and saying “we are willing to discuss the program and make an agreement for the legislative elections.” “We’re getting into electoral maneuvering,” regretted Fabien Roussel.

Referring to the last legislative agreement with LFI in 2024 during the New Popular Front, “we fought to elect common candidates,” recalled the Communist leader.

Electoral setbacks on the left “because of” LFI

But “these LFI deputies for whom we fought ran against Communist, Socialist, and ecologist mayors in the municipal elections,” he denounced, judging that “it leaves a bit of a bitter taste.”

The electoral setbacks suffered by the left in the municipal elections are “because of them, and that leaves a mark,” added Fabien Roussel, believing that there was “a break.”

“If it’s all about negotiating common candidates, it’s not my priority. I don’t want that, I don’t believe in it,” he insisted, personally considering that “Jean-Luc Mélenchon is certainly the worst candidate for the second round.”

Asked if there will be a Communist candidate in the 2027 presidential election, Fabien Roussel replied, “we’ll see,” as a PCF congress is scheduled for early July.

Advancing “an alternative proposal” to Manuel Bompard’s, he called on “left-wing forces,” including LFI, to work on the current “oil shock.”

“Is the left capable of presenting strong measures such as those I am putting on the table today in order to regain control of energy policy, to block profit margins,” he emphasized, wishing to talk “concretely for the French people” and not about “negotiations.”