Lucie Castets

‘The New Popular Front is Ready to Govern’

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Republished in full since the original authors are the copyright owners && they intended for the letter to be published.

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/new-popular-front-ready-govern

The Morning Star publishes the open letter to the French people from New Popular Front prime ministerial candidate Lucie Castets and leaders of its component parties, to inform British readers of the left’s case for government in France

LAST July, you mobilised massively at the polls to refuse the arrival of the extreme right in power and to break with the policies pursued for seven years. We thank you for this.

And since then? Nothing. The President of the Republic is procrastinating rather than drawing the consequences of these elections. How long are we going to continue as if nothing had happened at the beginning of the summer?

You have placed the New Popular Front at the top of the poll, without giving anyone an absolute majority. This result puts obligations on us all, and first and foremost obliges the one who caused it.

Unfair and imposed policies
The inaction of the President of the Republic is serious and harmful. Because it highlights his desire to prolong the last seven years of unjust and authoritarian policies. Because it gives the impression that the vote would serve no purpose, that all this would be nothing more than a game of institutional chess.

We are measuring the extent of the distrust expressed today throughout the country, by you, citizens, leaders of unions, businesses, associations, collectives, local elected officials. Through renunciations, decisions imposed against the will of the people, such as the pension reform, many of you no longer believe in politics.

These feelings fuel the rise of the extreme right that we have fought and will continue to fight.

The choice of the next government will have very concrete consequences on the daily lives of each and every one, depending on whether it continues the austerity “cure” or decides to reinvest in our public services. Parents need to know if we will give ourselves the means to put a teacher in front of their child, and to straighten out the public school system; employees need to know when their salary will be revalued, after several years of inflation; residents need to know if their housing can be thermally renovated and if adaptation to climate change will be accelerated; patients need to know if they will be admitted to the emergency room if necessary and if the hospital will have the means to operate; our children need to know if we will offer them a habitable planet where they can grow and flourish.

Necessary break
On all these issues, a break with past policies is necessary. It has been demanded by voters. This is what a New Popular Front government will undertake from the first hours of its nomination.

To the voters who have massively mobilised around the New Popular Front, we say: we are committed to building a fairer, more united society according to each person’s ability to contribute, in which work will be better paid, hardship better recognised, public services rehabilitated and to implementing immediately the ecological shift that is essential for our common future. A society in which everyone can have a dignified life.

To the voters who did not vote for us, on the right or the far right, as well as to those who did not vote at all, we say: yes, we want to break with the logic of one camp against another and will work together to build the future of the country and finance public services.

We are convinced that we will be able to improve the lives of French women and men in a concrete and rapid manner, and that the absence of an absolute majority will not prevent us from doing so. Who will refuse the increase in purchasing power that we are proposing with the revaluation of salaries and the remuneration of civil servants?

Who will accept seeing the catastrophic situation of public hospitals continue with emergency services closed in the middle of summer? Who will resign themselves to a new school year where so many teachers will be missing in front of our children in primary, secondary and high schools? On all these key issues, parliamentarians will report their votes and citizens will be witnesses.

A new way of governing
We are aware of this: we must invent a new way of governing under the Fifth Republic. Parliament must, in a transparent manner, regain control of its calendar and calmly discuss the projects and Bills that will be submitted to it. Social partners must be listened to and respected. New forms of association of field actors, local elected officials, associations and all those who bring our democracy to life on a daily basis must be imagined.

We will also bring French diplomacy to the service of peace because we cannot accept that disputes are settled by force in Europe and in the world. We will thus work to thwart Vladimir Putin’s war of aggression, defend the sovereignty of the Ukrainian people and work towards a return to peace.

We will act to obtain an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the hostages. And since the President of the Republic himself had stated that the recognition of the state of Palestine was not a “taboo for France,” we will act for its immediate recognition, alongside the state of Israel, on the basis of UN resolutions to move towards a just and lasting peace.

Finally, we will bring civil peace to New Caledonia by returning to the reform of the electoral body and reopening a process of discussion, in the spirit of the Noumea and Matignon agreements.

We are convinced that France can still embody the values ​​of justice, freedom and openness that have made its history. Hate speech damages it and does not resemble it.

You spoke out two months ago, now it is high time to take action: as in all parliamentary democracies, the coalition that comes out on top must be able to form a government, seek agreements within parliament and get to work.
We’ve been working on it all summer. We’re ready.

Lucie Castets, candidate of the New Popular Front as Prime Minister
Manuel Bompard, co-ordinator of France Insoumise
Olivier Faure, first secretary of the Socialist Party
Fabien Roussel, national secretary of the French Communist Party
Marine Tondelier, national secretary of the Ecologists

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/new-popular-front-ready-govern

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Progressive International Slams Macron for ‘Authoritarian Efforts to Repress the Will of the French People’

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Original article by Jessica Corbett republished from Common Dreams under a CC licence.

French President Emmanuel Macron gestures to the crowd before the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paralympic Games at Place de la Concorde on August 28, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo: Alex Davidson/Getty Images)

The president’s rejection of a center-left coalition’s prime minister candidate “is not merely a political maneuver to hold onto power, but a direct attack on French progressive forces.”

Progressive International on Wednesday issued a scathing critique of French President Emmanuel Macron and backed calls for protests next month over his rejection of a leftist alliance’s candidate for prime minister following recent snap elections.

Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP), a coalition of left-of-center parties formed to counter the far-right in this summer’s elections, won the most seats, beating out Macron’s centrist alliance and Marine Le Pen’s right-wing Rassemblement National (RN), but lacks an absolute majority.

Macron has since refused to appoint NFP’s chosen candidate, Lucie Castets, as prime minister, which the Progressive International Observatory blasted as “blatant disregard of the election results and the precedent established throughout the French Fifth Republic.”

Progressive International launched in May 2020 to unite, organize, and mobilize progressive groups and individuals around the world, and since then it has built a global Observatory “with the legal expertise, data science, and parliamentary power to track the attacks on our democratic institutions and provide a real-time defense against them.”

“The attempt to stifle political competition and subvert the democratic process is a direct assault on these core values.”

France’s snap elections—which Macron called after his party performed poorly in European elections—were held on June 30 and July 7. Since then, the Observatory noted, “a caretaker government has led France, with Macron citing the Paris Olympics as a reason to delay the appointment.”

While the Olympic Games have concluded, Macron opened the Paralympic Games in the French capital Wednesday evening. They are set to run through September 8.

Macron—defending his refusal to appoint Castets—has argued that because centrist and right-wing parties would block any actions by NFP, “the institutional stability of our country therefore requires us not to choose this option.” His critics in France are now planning “a large demonstration against Macron’s coup on September 7.”

Echoing the French critics, the Observatory declared Wednesday that “Macron’s move is a direct challenge to the democratic will of the people and an affront to the foundational tenets of political pluralism.”

“This action is not merely a political maneuver to hold onto power, but a direct attack on French progressive forces,” the Observatory said, pointing to pledges by RN and centrist leaders to move a no-confidence motion against any prime minister nominated from the NFP.

The Observatory also highlighted Macron’s “sinister divide-and-rule move” to isolate the far-left La France Insoumise (LFI), led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, by appealing to other NFP parties “to break the political paralysis.”

The other parties that make up NFP have rebuffed the French president and, according toFrance 24, “Mélenchon even threatened to start impeachment proceedings against Macron.”

Progressive International’s Observatory emphasized that “democracy thrives on the diversity of ideas and the peaceful transition of power. The attempt to stifle political competition and subvert the democratic process is a direct assault on these core values.”

The Observatory concluded with a “call to democratic forces worldwide to oppose Emmanuel Macron’s authoritarian efforts to repress the will of the French people—and join the call for the September 7 mobilization to defend it.”

Original article by Jessica Corbett republished from Common Dreams under a CC licence.

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Two months after elections, Macron refuses to nominate progressive prime minister

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Original article by Ana Vračar republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

NFP representatives ahead of talks with President Macron, August 2024. Source: Lucie Castets/X

Emmanuel Macron continues to block the formation of a New Popular Front-led government, sparking outrage over his disregard for democratic processes

Almost two months have passed since the snap election in France, and President Emmanuel Macron is still avoiding to nominate a new prime minister. His behavior has sparked outrage, particularly in left and progressive circles, who accuse him of usurping power and showing a gross lack of respect for democratic processes.

Following consultations with representatives of all parliamentary parties between August 23 and 26, Macron refused to nominate Lucie Castets, the candidate put forward by the New Popular Front (NFP), claiming he is acting to preserve “institutional stability.”

The NFP emerged as the group with the largest number of parliamentary seats in the election, despite not securing an absolute majority. This lack of an absolute majority has been exploited by political opponents, ranging from Macron’s liberals to the far-right led by Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella, who argue that there was no clear election winner and seek to block a progressive government from taking office.

Read: Macron calls for ‘political pause’ amid post-election transition

Both liberals and right-wing factions have vowed to block an NFP-led government, especially if it includes ministers from the left-wing party France Unbowed (LFI). However, these threats have been denounced by NFP representatives as attempts to prevent the coalition from implementing its program, which aims to break with the neoliberal policies championed by the liberals and supported by the right.

“Emmanuel Macron understands that our priority, as the French people expect, will be to reverse his unfair pension reform and restore public services,” said Lucie Castets. “He is looking for excuses to prevent us from doing so.”

The President’s latest statements have been described as “a disgrace” and “lunatic” by leaders of the parties united in the NFP. “The President of the Republic has just created a situation of exceptional gravity,” summarized Jean-Luc Mélenchon, announcing that LFI will be calling for Macron’s impeachment.

“Anger. That is what millions of us are feeling this morning. Emmanuel Macron is telling us that elections are worthless. So, does democracy mean nothing to the President? That’s extremely dangerous,” Castets pointed out in an interview.

Meanwhile, Macron continues to insist that the only way forward is to find a candidate for prime minister who enjoys cross-party support, raising questions about the purpose of elections in the first place. According to the President, an NFP government would face an immediate vote of no confidence from the liberals and the right wing, leaving it completely ineffectual. Instead, he announced another round of conversations with parliamentary groups to define a way forward—talks that the NFP has already declared they will not attend, deeming them illegitimate.

“The gravity of the moment calls for a firm response from French society against the incredible abuse of power to which it is being subjected,” LFI said in a press statement. As a first step, the left party, along with student organizations and unions, has called for protests on September 7.

Original article by Ana Vračar republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Continue ReadingTwo months after elections, Macron refuses to nominate progressive prime minister

Macron calls for ‘political pause’ amid post-election transition

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Original article by Ana Vračar republished from peoples dispatch under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Emmanuel Macron. (Photo: via L’ Insoumission)

Emmanuel Macron continues to stall the post-election process in France, ignoring the New Popular Front’s calls to nominate their prime ministerial candidate

Nearly a month after the snap election in France, President Emmanuel Macron continues to delay recognizing the electoral victory of the left-progressive alliance New Popular Front (NFP). Following extensive consultations, the NFP recently named Lucie Castets as their prime ministerial candidate, urging Macron to formally nominate her. Instead, Macron has called for a “political pause” until mid-August, apparently to allow the nation to focus on the Olympic Games.

Castets, a 37-year-old expert in tax evasion and fraud intelligence, expressed her determination to see the nomination through. Even more than her economic expertise, her dedication to public services and opposition to privatization make her a logical choice for the NFP. Reacting to the NFP nomination, she stated that she would fully implement the coalition’s program of rupture, ending cuts imposed by Macron over the years.

As a member of the collective Our Public Services, Castets analyzed parties’ programs during the last election. Reflecting on the materials collected throughout this process, she vocally criticized the far-right National Assembly, debunking claims that their program would benefit the working class. On the contrary, the collective’s report indicated that the course would remain largely unchanged by what was set by Macron’s liberals. This would lead to further reductions in access to essential services and cuts targeting migrants in particular.

Castets also said she aims to repeal Macron’s controversial pension reform. NFP parliamentarians have already submitted a bill to reverse the rising retirement age, in line with announcements made during the election campaign.

Read more: French left calls for no-confidence vote as Macronists obstruct bill to repeal pension reforms

Despite having the largest number of representatives in the National Assembly, the NFP faces challenges to consolidate their power as President Macron continues to exercise his executive power to block them. The president has not only avoided recognizing the left’s victory and kept former PM Gabriel Attal in a caretaker role while calling for the “political pause,” but Macron’s liberals also collaborated with the right-wing Republicans to re-elect Yaël Braun-Pivet as president of the National Assembly, a move criticized by progressive circles. However, most new parliamentary functionaries are from the NFP, giving the coalition significant leverage for future discussions.

France Unbowed criticized Macron for “confiscating” democracy. “The theft of democracy we are witnessing risks putting into power a hard-right coalition aligned with the Macronists, paving the way for the National Rally and resulting in deeply antisocial policies that are hostile to workers and trade unions,” the party wrote following Macron’s refusal to nominate Castets.

Original article by Ana Vračar republished from peoples dispatch under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.


Continue ReadingMacron calls for ‘political pause’ amid post-election transition