"We're not ruling anything out": the Socialist Party is ready to present candidates against LFI in the next legislative by-elections

The end of the relative agreement within the New Popular Front (NFP)? The political return to office promises to be tense with the organization, before October, of early legislative elections following the resignation on July 11 of three deputies declared ineligible .

In each of these electoral zones, NFP candidates reached the second round of the last legislative elections, in 2024. An early election therefore represents a major challenge for the left.

The by-elections will take place in three constituencies: the first in Tarn-et-Garonne, the fifth for French citizens abroad, and the second in Paris, with a hypothetical contest between Rachida Dati and Michel Barnier.

In its 2024 agreement , the NFP granted the sole candidacy of La France Insoumise in constituencies such as that of the French Abroad, which includes Andorra, Spain, Monaco and Portugal.

Martha Peciña will be representing Jean-Luc Mélenchon's party, succeeding Maxime Da Silva, the LFI candidate who was disappointed in the last legislative elections. "The candidacy in this constituency rightfully belongs to LFI," he insisted in the columns of Le Parisien .

In a press release issued on July 17, La France Insoumise called on "all the signatory components of the June 2024 agreement to respect their commitments made to the voters" by aligning themselves with "a candidacy carrying the New Popular Front's program of rupture."

But in the Socialist Party, "we're not ruling anything out," the Socialist Party's number two, MEP Pierre Jouvet, clarified to the same source. "We'll be ready for the three upcoming legislative by-elections," he explained on July 23rd on Sud Radio 's Petit-déjeuner politique , adding that presenting a candidate in the fifth constituency of French people living abroad was "a strong possibility (...) in principle."

The elected official emphasizes that "the Insoumis had this constituency twice in the Nupes and NFP agreements and twice they lost this constituency." "If we want to win, to have a majority one day in the National Assembly, we must look at what is going on and who can win," he adds.

But Manuel Bompard, MP and national coordinator of La France Insoumise, warned in the columns of Le Parisien: "If, once again, the socialists do not respect the NFP agreement, we will no longer consider ourselves bound by any agreement whatsoever."

In the first constituency of Tarn-et-Garonne, former Socialist MP and Vice-President of the National Assembly, Valérie Rabault, announced that she would not be standing again and was handing over the reins to Cathie Bourdoncle, Socialist Vice-President of the Tarn-et-Garonne Departmental Council.

While LFI has not yet announced a candidate, Pierre Jouvet told Le Parisien that he has "several very good candidates" for the position. "The left may also have something to play for" in Paris, he adds. In the capital's fifth constituency, the Socialist Party (PS) has not yet nominated a candidate to succeed Marine Rosset, who was a PS candidate last year and has since led the Scouts and Guides of France.

If in the center and on the right, Rachida Dati could engage in a battle with Michel Barnier, the left can pull through.