Socialist Party suspends participation in France's left-wing Nupes coalition

France's Socialist Party has voted on a "moratorium" on its participation in the Nupes opposition coalition and its cooperation with the hard-left France Unbowed party leader, Jean-Luc Mélenchon. 

FILE PHOTO: French leftist party La France Insoumise leader Jean-Luc Melenchon (R) speaks with Socialist Party politician Olivier Faure at a press conference in Paris on May 19, 2022. On October 17, 2023 Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure felt that La France insoumise leader Jean-Luc Melenchon could "no longer claim to be the one who embodies the whole of the left and ecology." AFP - THOMAS SAMSON

Overnight Tuesday, the Socialist Party's national council met for six hours, after which is was decided – with 54.15% of the vote – on a "moratorium on its participation in the Nupes left-wing coalition, denouncing the persistent, conflictual nature of the France Unbowed (LFI) party.

The decision follows the refusal of LFI leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon and his inner circle to denounce the Palestinian militant group Hamas as a terrorist organisation after the bloody attack on Israel on 7 October.

In a tweet posted in the form of an epitaph, Jean-Luc Mélenchon made the end of Nupes official this morning, slamming the political divorce: "Olivier Faure breaks off from Nupes ... for personal reasons concerning Israel, Palestine."

O. Faure rompt la NUPES pour fait personnel à mon sujet à propos d’Israël/Palestine. J’ai dit ma vision dans deux conférences et trois tweets. Chacun jugera. Je ne peux que répéter ici les mots d’ordre que j’ai adoptés avec lesquels Faure et le PS sont en désaccord : cessez le…

— Jean-Luc Mélenchon (@JLMelenchon) October 17, 2023

'Obstacle to unity'

In his speech to the Socialist Party faithful, Olivier Faure said Tuesday evening that "Jean-Luc Mélenchon has been a unifying factor, but today he has become an obstacle".

He stressed "the need for a radical change" in the way a leftist union works, underlining that the Socialist Party didn't sign up for "making a mess" of French politics.

• French opposition sceptical after marathon meeting with Macron

"We are here to govern and transform," he asserted, while affirming that he remained a supporter of left-wing union.

Speaking on France Inter radio, Faure said that the leader of the hard-left LFI movement could no longer "be the person who embodies the whole of the left and ecologists," justifying the moratorium in the name of political clarity. 

"Je proposerai aux socialistes un moratoire." @faureolivier veut suspendre la participation du PS aux travaux de la Nupes, "tant que nous n'avons pas réussi à obtenir une clarification". Il pointe le rôle de Jean-Luc Mélenchon qui, selon lui, "clive la gauche". #le710inter pic.twitter.com/lHbczVCAom

— France Inter (@franceinter) October 17, 2023

Scandal and lack of clarity

In an attempt to overcome the differences within France's left, Cyrielle Chatelain, the leader of French Green MPs in the National Assembly, suggested holding a "general meeting" of the 151 Nupes MPs "as soon as possible."

But for former French Green presidential candidate Yannick Jadot, the would have to "suspend our relationship with the leadership of France Unbowed until there is a strong clarification on core values." 

• Anger over 'masculinist' defence of French leftwinger who slapped his wife

The Nupes coalition has, however, been floundering since its inception in June 2022.

The French left's unity has been vigorously tested by a domestic violence scandal involving MP Adrien Quatennens, a common strategy against President Macron's controversial pension reform, the war in Ukraine and urban riots.

For its part, the Communist Party has already taken a step towards exiting the coalition by voting for a resolution on Sunday that "notes the impasse" within Nupes, calling for "a new type of union".