Free Republic

The French Left, which has long excelled in its ability to unite against a common enemy, appears more divided than ever and incapable of defining a unified strategy for action. At issue are tensions caused by the positions of Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s party, La France Insoumise (LFI), whose antisemitic and pro-Hamas stance is alienating more and more of its supporters. On June 14th and 15th, the French Socialist Party, one of the oldest formations on the French left, held its annual congress. The party has long dominated political life on this side of the political spectrum, but for several years now...

French President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist LREM party is neck-and-neck with the far-right Rassemblement National, formerly the National Front, for the May 2019 European Parliament elections, according to poll results published on Thursday. The two parties scored 21.5 percent and 21 percent of voting intentions respectively in the survey by Odoxa-Dentsu Consulting. The conservative Les Republicains party came in third place with 14 percent of voting intentions, followed by far-left La France Insoumise with 12.5 percent. The Socialist Party of previous president François Hollande won just 4.5 percent, fewer than green party Europe Écologie Les Verts with five percent. …