Offensive against Mélenchon: Macron labels him far-left

ParisIs La France Insoumise (LFI) a far-left party? In a country where the government officially classifies parties into different political blocs, the answer is not innocuous. It could shape France's political future. The party, founded by Jean-Luc Mélenchon in 2016, has always been labeled radical left—a label the party embraces—and was already classified within the left-wing bloc. However, a circular published by the Interior Ministry on February 2nd, in anticipation of the municipal elections in March, places the party in the far-left bloc. "I don't make the classifications, but there's no mystery that they are far-left," Emmanuel Macron asserted. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez—formerly the head of the Paris Police—justified the decision by citing criticism from the insubordinate to the police forces or the "systematic" use of motions of no confidence.

Within the far-left bloc, there are minority parties that advocate breaking with the structures of the State, such as the New Anticapitalist Party (NPA), which wants to abolish private property and proposes a "break with the State and its institutions," or Workers' Struggle (LO), which promises "as." In short, the French government classifies as far-left those parties that go against the principles and values ​​of the Republic, those that place themselves outside the republican framework.

"The far left consists of Trotskyist and anarchist movements that question the Republic, which they consider inseparable from capitalism. LFI's political proposal, as well as its general discourse, however radical it may be, remains republican," argues Thomas Legrand, editorialist for Release in an editorial published this week in the French newspaper.

Negative image

The problem for the insubordinate This is no small matter. The far-left label means becoming an undesirable party in the eyes of the public, with an image far removed from that of a governing party. This is what the right, the far right, and the Macronists have been trying to achieve for some time. The entire parliamentary spectrum, except for the left, presents LFI as extremist, especially since the Hamas attacks of October 7. The defense of the Palestinians and the criticism of Israel serve as pretexts for the other parties to resort to the mantra of antisemitism.

"Any excuse will do to describe Mélenchon as an extremist. Whether he is or not is not the question," notes political scientist Philippe Marlière, professor at University College London, in the ARA. "When you want to discredit the left, you always start here: 'it's said to be an extreme party.'"

The insubordinate And their voters are key to an alliance of left-wing parties: if LFI is far-left, the possibility of a future pact with the Socialists, the Greens, and the Communists for the presidential or legislative elections diminishes. Since elections in France are always held in two rounds, a divided left faces a very difficult task in gaining strength in the National Assembly or reaching the Élysée Palace.

Cordon sanitaire

Now that they insubordinate Although officially considered far-left, the parties have seized the opportunity to stoke fears of a Mélenchon government. Le Pen's far-right, which has been subjected to a cordon sanitaire for years, has even gone so far as to call for one against LFI.

The death last week of an ultra-right-wing militant in a fight with anti-fascist youths Links to the Young Antifascist Guard, a far-left group founded by an LFI deputy, have provided further ammunition for those who characterize the party as extremist. La France Insoumise has appealed to the Council of State to overturn the far-left label, and the other parties in the progressive bloc have criticized the government's decision. The leader of the Socialists, Olivier Faure, warned that it is "unfair" and denounced the decision as a maneuver to demonize Le Pen's far right. Media outlets with a conservative editorial line, most of them controlled by Vincent Bolloré, are also playing a significant role in the campaign against LFI, while simultaneously downplaying Marine Le Pen's extremism. Le FigaroFor example, they have stopped describing Reagrupament Nacional as far-right and now refer to it as a "nationalist party".

Leaders' behavior

"The LFI program is not extremist in itself, in the sense that it respects institutions, but I consider the behavior of the party members to be extremist behavior, and it has been for some time," Guillaume Roquette, a journalist, told France Inter. Le Figaro and a professor of political sociology at the University of Lausanne, who points to the party leader's "charismatic" and "firm" personality to explain why some label the party extremist. "Mélenchon's way of speaking can be a bit harsh."

Other experts categorically maintain that the party cannot be labeled extremist. "There isn't a single argument that allows LFI to be classified as far-left; it doesn't hold up," he argued in Release the sociologist Manuel Cervera-Marzal, author of The populism of the left [Left-wing populism], a book Regarding Mélenchon's party. The fundamental difference between the LFI and far-left parties is that the insubordinate They are "a parliamentary movement that fully subscribes to the electoral game," while the other parties believe that social change "does not come through the ballot box, but through the streets or even through weapons," he concludes.