France’s left-of-centre parties were on Tuesday close to a broad alliance for June parliamentary polls, hoping that a united front can force President Emmanuel Macron to share power with the left during his second term in office.
Greens and Communists have fallen into line behind the hard-left La France Insoumise (France Unbowed or LFI) movement, and the once-mighty Socialist Party (PS) is expected to follow.
“The different parts of the left are not as irreconcilable after all,” PS negotiator Pierre Jouvet told Europe 1 radio.
He said the talks were “a few steps from a historic agreement” – while acknowledging that there were “some adjustments” to party programmes and constituency allocations to fine-tune before a deal was sealed.
“There are some sticking points, sometimes on policy but mostly about seats,” said LFI negotiator Manuel Bompard.
A strong showing from LFI leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon saw him fall just short of reaching the second round run-off in the April presidential vote, while other left candidates were all but wiped out.
04:34
After Macron’s presidential win, Mélenchon immediately called on voters to “elect him prime minister” and hand the left a National Assembly majority to block the centrist’s plans.
