The French left’s candidate to be prime minister has insisted the alliance is willing to compromise on a programme that includes rolling back pension reforms and tax rises for the “ultra rich” if allowed to govern, reports The Guardian.
In her first formal interview with a non-French paper, Lucie Castets, representing the New Popular Front (NFP), said she had been exploring “red lines” with opponents across the political spectrum except the far right.
“I’m not waiting, I’m working. I’m talking to a lot of people not just from the NFP but from the centre trying to understand what they need, what their red lines and goals are and what we can agree on.”
“They are all very worried. Nobody understands what Emmanuel Macron is doing, even the Macronists. He is not giving us [political parties] the chance to work together. If you ask me of course I will say I want our programme to be the priority, but if you ask what can we change, what can we compromise on, I say we can compromise.”
She added: “Macron says the problem is the NFP programme. He feels threatened because he thinks we’re going to change everything he did and it’s true that is our intention. But we’re not saying we will be able to change everything because we will need to find an agreement on every issue and we are fully aware of this.
“He accuses us of wanting to keep the whole programme and only the whole programme, but if we are in government, we will present a law – say to repeal the pension changes – and MPs will vote on it. If we are unhappy with the result we will have to find an agreement and actually I think on this specific issue we would find an agreement. That’s how parliament works.”
It is almost two months since the snap general election Macron called to clarify French politics after the far-right National Rally was victorious in European elections. The surprise move backfired, leaving parliament with three roughly equal political blocks – left, centre and far right – and the French parliament in an unprecedented crisis.
The centrist government resigned after the election but continues as a caretaker administration. With the 1 October deadline for the 2025 government budget to be submitted to the National Assembly, time is running out for any new administration to prepare and present its economic plan.