Politics. The Council of State confirms the classification of LFI as far left for the …

The Council of State confirmed, in a decision made this Friday, the classification of LFI as “extreme left” and that of UDR, Eric Ciotti’s party, as “extreme right” for the March 2026 municipal elections after being approached by the two political parties, who contested this decision by the Ministry of the Interior.

“The Council of State considers, given the political situation prevailing for the 2026 municipal elections and the alliances observed for these elections, that neither the classification of LFI in the ‘extreme left’ dividing bloc, nor that of UDR in the ‘extreme right’ dividing bloc, are tainted with a manifest error of appreciation,” wrote the highest administrative jurisdiction.

This is the first time that Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s movement, which defines itself as radically left-wing, has been classified as extreme left since its creation in 2016. La France insoumise, even though it advocates a break with capitalism and maintains relationships with extreme left parties, was previously classified as left, as confirmed in a decision by the Council of State in 2024. But Minister of the Interior Laurent Nuñez decided otherwise in a circular published earlier this month. “We can only regret that the judges did not have the courage to denounce the use of political labels for political purposes. It is normally their role to resist the distortions of administrative decisions by a Macronist power that has permanently tarnished everything it touches,” denounced La France insoumise’s coordinator Manuel Bompard on X.

LFI, a movement known for its ultra-radical form and its style imbued with the “noise and fury” theorized by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, is reclassified due to its “very strong challenge to the judiciary” and its “systematic accusations” against “the police (who) kill,” evidence for Nuñez of a “evolution towards a form of radicalism” with “calls for civil disobedience.” “We do not manipulate political labels,” insisted the Beauvau tenant, assuming the reclassification of an organization that “strays a bit from our republican universalistic values by prioritizing communal (and) identity aspects.”

The Insoumis were outraged by this decision, which they saw as a political attack. The movement’s coordinator, Manuel Bompard, accused the executive of “using these labels as a means of stigmatization,” even if, from his point of view, this classification as extreme left is “not defamatory or insulting (but) simply wrong.”