No one within the EU institutions really believes that Jean-Luc Mélenchon will become prime minister after the legislative elections. But the pact between LFI and the other left-wing parties is raising questions in the European Parliament.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
As much as the small European universe of Brussels was worried about Marine Le Pen reaching the doors of the Elysée Palace before the French presidential election, the prospect of seeing Jean-Luc Mélenchon, a self-proclaimed Eurosceptic, at the Matignon Hotel (where the French prime minister lives) seems, at this stage, to be pure political fiction. As seen from Brussels, the alliance between La France Insoumise (LFI), Europe Ecologie-Les Verts (EELV), the Parti Socialiste (PS) and the Parti Communiste is not a game-changer. But “There are questions about the peculiarities of our political system. More than about the prospect of the far left coming to power,” said Sébastien Maillard, director of the European think tank Jacques Delors Institute.
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Europe is more familiar with parliamentary systems. The French model – whereby the French have elected Emmanuel Macron, but might not give him a majority in Parliament – raises many questions. “If the ultranationalists of the left and right were to win a majority in the Assemblée Nationale, the only person outside of France celebrating would be Putin,” commented one diplomat privately.
‘Ready to disobey’
Even if France’s partners currently see the scenario as highly unlikely, a cohabitation with Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s Nouvelle Union Populaire Ecologique et Sociale “would isolate France within the European Union (EU), it would no longer be a driving force,” commented Sébastien Maillard. At the European Council of Ministers, the government would be in the driver’s seat, often with stances far removed from those of Emmanuel Macron. However, at the European Council – a gathering of the heads of state and government of the 27 Member States – the president would be in charge.
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In the European Parliament, however, LFI’s alliance raises real questions. Not so much among the socialists, who won six seats in Strasbourg in the 2019 European elections and carry little weight in the Social Democrats (S&D) group. Nor among the communists, who have no elected member in the European Parliament. But within the Green group, where the twelve French represent the second largest delegation after Germany.
On Wednesday evening, May 4, Green MEPs met in Strasbourg to discuss the pact signed between LFI and EELV a few days earlier. This alliance states that they “will need to be ready to disobey some European rules”. In theory, this should outrage EELV’s allies, as they are strongly committed to the EU treaties, and fuel criticism from Macronist MEPs, who are now questioning the pro-European pedigree of the French Greens.
