Olivier Faure, a “pre-primary” to constrain Glucksmann. The political chronicle of Pierre Lepelletier

Olivier Faure likes football, and will undoubtedly follow the World Cup organized in North America which begins on June 11. Perhaps he is taking inspiration from the new format – more teams with more elimination rounds – to find a way out of the blockage in which the non-Melenchonist left is stuck in finding a common candidate. In front of his family on the evening of May 31, the first secretary of the PS proposed a sort of preliminary tour via a “ pré-primaire » limitée à «In the space of the socialist and social democratic left ”.

All supporters who recognize themselves in these values ​​would be invited to participate. The winner would then take part, in a second phase, “ a departure open to the rest of the left» outside LFI, by the famous primary which is struggling to see the light of day, or by another means. The entourage of the first secretary informed the press on the evening of June 2 that the latter intended to submit this strategy to the vote of socialist activists.at the latest » le 9 juillet.

With this new proposal, Olivier Faure stands out more as an expert level chess player than as a professional footballer. Through this “pre-primary”, the socialist seeks above all to force Raphaël Glucksmann to join a collective process of designation. Until now, the co-founder of Place Publique has always refused to participate in a primary of the non-Melenchonist left in view of the excessive differences with certain competitors including former LFI François Ruffin and Clémentine Autain.

Olivier Faure’s entourage believes that this intermediate step partly removes this obstacle. Above all, the first secretary knows that Raphaël Glucksmann will not be able to do without the support of the PS if he wants to successfully carry out his presidential campaign. HAS” If he needs support so much, then let him play the game“, warns someone close to the leader of the socialists.

In such a process, Olivier Faure’s entourage also believes that their boss has something to play. If he finds himself in the running against Raphaël Glucksmann, the first secretary could claim to voters to be the best placed to then come to an agreement with the rest of the left and therefore guarantee a common candidacy, he who has always fought for. At the risk of undermining the dynamics of the European deputy who is for the moment the only one on the left to be on par with Jean-Luc Mélenchon in the polls?

The “faurists” minimize since they have always considered that his score above the 10% mark represented above all the weight of the social-democratic space, and that he would therefore be comparable to any other socialist candidate once launched into the campaign.

It remains to be seen how far this new trial balloon will go. To submit this strategy to the vote of activists by July 9, Olivier Faure must already convince the national council of the PS, an internal body in which he only has a relative majority. The first secretary must ensure the support of some of his opponents, while many of them complain of having discovered his proposal in the press… If the principle is validated, Raphaël Glucksmann will then have to be brought on board.

For the moment, Place Publique executives have not commented. Privately, someone close to the MEP regretted that this new episode, ever more complex, was wasted time speaking directly to the French. And asked: “How long will the left talk to itself? »

â„¹ï¸ Find all our confidential information for free in our political newsletter “Vivement dimanche!”