Jean-Luc Mélenchon affirms that “Marseille will not be swept away by the brown wave”, in a gathering for the municipal elections | EUROtoday

In the house stretch of municipal elections with out actual certainty, Jean-Luc Mélenchon posed on Saturday March 7 as a bulwark towards the RN in Marseille. A marketing campaign that appears like a precursor to the presidential election, marked by doubts on the left about second-round alliances.

Eight days earlier than the primary spherical on March 15, these points discover a specific echo in Marseille, the place the RN candidate Franck Allisio is neck and neck with the outgoing left-wing mayor, Benoît Payan.

The chance of a victory for the Lepéniste celebration, though it’s removed from sure, makes France’s second metropolis some of the scrutinized.

Benoît Payan, on the head of a left-wing coalition, referred to as on his rebellious rival Sébastien Delogu to keep away from this “earthquake” by withdrawing for him between the 2 rounds. “Marseille will not be swept away by the brown wave” And “it will be thanks to us”replied the chief of LFI throughout a gathering to assist Sébastien Delogu.

In a packed room, Jean-Luc Mélenchon lambasted the far proper at size, particularly Jordan Bardella, who additionally got here to Marseille on Friday, on his positions vis-à-vis Donald Trump.

“Such was Pétain, such is Bardella when he said “commercial and strategic interest is essential for the United States of America””he mentioned, earlier than concentrating on the PS after weeks of repeated controversies which widened the hole between the left-wing events. “We shout alert, alert! The Socialist Party line puts everyone in great danger. The left, but France first »that she “would ultimately deliver to the extreme right”he defined.

The rose celebration accused the rebellious chief of getting held “anti-Semitic remarks” when he joked concerning the pronunciation of Jewish surnames “Epstein” And “Glucksman”. “Who can believe that these are slips of the tongue when such a cultured man begins to make ironic remarks about Jewish names? »said Saturday the boss of the PS, Olivier Faure, at Parisian. By his “excesses” and his ” lies “, “Jean-Luc Mélenchon gives arguments” to the adversaries of the left, he added, accusing him of getting crossed “the unacceptable”.

If this local weather just isn’t conducive to agreements for the second spherical of March 22, the events haven’t closed the door. If a nationwide settlement has been dominated out by the PS, case-by-case preparations stay doable below situations.

Marriages of comfort

Marriages of comfort could also be essential, for instance in Toulouse the place François Briançon’s left-wing union will most likely want LFI votes to win. In Lyon, the environmentalist mayor Grégory Doucet has already reached out to the novel left, his solely hope of preserving town.

The rebels assured that they wished ” gathering “ if they arrive out on prime, however this situation is unlikely in most cities. Evry, La Courneuve and particularly Roubaix are amongst their solely hopes of conquest.

In this northern metropolis, an Ifop survey confirmed their ambitions on Saturday. LFI MP David Guiraud is clearly within the lead with 44% within the first spherical and favourite within the second spherical whatever the configuration. Roubaix, 98,000 inhabitants, might subsequently turn out to be the biggest municipality managed by the Mélenchonist celebration.

At the opposite finish of the spectrum, the RN has increased aims and is aiming for victories in a number of dozen municipalities which might understand its want for native institution. The polls give him purpose to imagine it, significantly in Toulon, Menton and Carcassonne. Jordan Bardella, favourite within the polls for 2027, didn’t skimp on marketing campaign journeys.

But current months have additionally proven that the celebration has not completely gotten rid of “bad apples” towards which he says he’s preventing, a number of candidates having been singled out for racist or homophobic remarks.

The presidential camp, with out a lot native presence, will play an additional position. Its nationwide leaders hardly campaigned in any respect.

The race is shut in lots of cities, reminiscent of in Paris the place it’s the dynamics between the 2 rounds which can resolve between Emmanuel Grégoire, chief of the left exterior LFI, and Rachida Dati (LR and MoDem).

Big stakes additionally for former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe who linked his nationwide future and subsequently his candidacy for 2027 to a victory in his metropolis of Le Havre. Or for Eric Ciotti, who will take a look at the facility of attraction of his Union of Rights, Siamese of the RN, by making an attempt to dethrone his enemy brother Christian Estrosi in Nice.