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On the Left, the miracle did not occur in the PACA Region.
In December, the “It’s Time” coalition aimed to create a broad alliance of the left, environmentalists, and citizens. However, the result mainly reflects the dominance of the Ecologist Pole (1).
On the Left: Domination of the Ecologist Pole
As with the strategic confrontation between Estrosi and Ciotti on the right, what is happening on the left also concerns the 2022 presidential race. The forces grouped within the Ecologist Pole launched a participatory platform, “The Ecologists 2022,” on April 21, 2021. The PACA Region seems to be the testing ground for this strategy, which favors an Ecologist Pole-PS axis. This was still too left-wing for Jean Marc Governatori—too many socialists and too many communists for this right-wing man who ultimately decided to form his own list: “Ecology at the Center.”
Despite this slight setback for the Ecologist Pole, they secure not only the head of the Regional list but also top positions in 13, 83, and 84, with the PS taking 06 and 05, and the PCF having to suffice with the 04, which represents only 3.5% of the Region’s electorate…
Similarly, when it comes to eligible spots, you will search in vain for a candidate outside of the Ecologist Pole and PS in the top three positions across the three main departments.
The Ecologist Pole’s control over the PACA gathering results in the exclusion of FI, as well as the left wing of EELV and many citizens involved in the social movement who contributed to launching the “It’s Time” call in December. We end up with what we feared: a very narrow gathering.
Parachuted Candidates Across the Region
Narrow, but also the result of bargaining that pays little attention to the interest of the populations and prioritizes arrangements among friends.
Thus, the second person on the Var list is a former PS elected official from Marseille who suddenly arrives in Var. In Vaucluse, there isn’t even the need to pretend: the third person on the list is an assistant to Sophie Camard, mayor of the 1st district of… Marseille. And what about Alpes Maritimes, where the fifth on the list is a municipal councilor in Avignon? At a time when proximity and the non-cumulation of mandates are advocated, we might expect the left to set an example. We will have to wait.
Concerning the presence of actors from the social movement, trade unionists, or even citizens engaged in defending human rights, they are absent from the list of 06. In the rest of the Region, aside from two candidates put forward by the PCF in 83 and 13, and positioned quite far back, we will also search in vain for social movement actors.
Likewise, in the valleys of our department, which were severely affected by Storm Alex, where reconstruction will take years, and important issues regarding the future of rail transport (lines of Provence railways, Nice-Cunéo line) fall under the direct competence of the PACA Region, the list shines by the absence of women and men engaged in these territories.
Withdrawal of PCF-06, Strong Discontent from PCF-83
Adding to this, the propositions of candidates, all in ineligible positions, made to communists of 06 on this list led the departmental management of PCF 06 to decide not to participate in this charade by withdrawing from this list.
The Alpes-Maritimes is not the only department where communists express their discontent. In Var, the departmental council of PCF 83 issued a declaration on May 10, questioning, apart from the programmatic questions and the PCF’s weak position on this list, the head of the list, Jean Laurent Félizia, arguing that: “developments since 2015 no longer allow Jean-Laurent Félizia to be the head of the list. His right-wing adventures in municipal elections, his statements, and his exclusionary approach are not compatible with the responsibility of being the head of a list, which has the essential mission of publicly carrying a program and enabling a militant dynamic for the campaign” (2)
Meanwhile, La France Insoumise stated they would withdraw “not to add to the chaos that is brewing.”
As for the “minorities” of EELV, who still represent nearly 49% of EELV members, sidelined by their leadership, many have decided to join the Regionalist list.
The refusal to create the conditions for a broad left-wing gathering and the dissensions on the right all play into the hands of the National Rally, now more than ever waiting in the wings to capture the 3rd Region of France.
Robert Injey, PCF06
