France’s left-wing firebrand former economy minister has launched his political return, hinting that he could run as a candidate in next year’s presidential election, reports The Financial Times.
Arnaud Montebourg’s return to the fray on Sunday after almost two years on the sidelines is the latest sign that Europe’s second-largest economy is now in full election mode with less than a year before next year’s vote.
His return could also significantly complicate François Hollande’s path to re-election as the serving socialist president tries to re-engage the more left-wing factions of his party after his lurch towards more pro-business policies to revive the economy.
Mr Hollande, 61, who has yet to formally to declare his candidacy, has been pushing the message recently that the French economy is on the mend, citing figures showing better-than-expected growth during the first quarter as well as the biggest monthly cut in unemployment in 15 years.
But in a wide-ranging television interview on Sunday, Mr Montebourg, 53, who served as one of Mr Hollande’s most visible, and vociferous, ministers before being replaced in 2014, said: “The country is not in a situation that would allow us to say that things are better.”
Mr Montebourg, a suave figure with good looks, launched a full-scale attack on Mr Hollande’s flagship economic reform proposal to overhaul the complex and uncompetitive labour code, which is before parliament.
Arguing that it was conceived “without consulting anyone”, the former minister said the proposal, which aims to introduce greater flexibility for employers, said “it will not work”. To underline his opposition, he said that if he were a member of parliament he “would not vote for that law”.
When asked by the TV station France 2 whether he would throw his hat in the ring for the race next year, he responded: “If there are responsibilities that need to be taken, I will take them.” However, he added “the moment has not yet arrived”.
Mr Montebourg’s return is further evidence of the gargantuan challenge that stands in the way of Mr Hollande’s re-election. For one thing, the least popular president in France’s modern history, according to recent polls, faces opposition in the form of former president Nicolas Sarkozy and Alain Juppé for the centre-right Republicans party.
Marine Le Pen, charismatic leader of the far-right National Front party, has also grown in popularity over the past few years, notching up several important local election victories on an anti-immigration, anti-European Union campaign that has found plenty of supporters among France’s disaffected voters.