Raphaël Glucksmann had previously decided not to respond to criticism from those on his left. But after a tense May Day, the member of the European Parliament decided to counter-attack. As he was about to join the demonstration in Saint-Etienne, the Socialists' lead candidate for the June European elections was targeted by some 50 people shouting "Get out!", "Palestine will live," and throwing projectiles and paint at him, forcing him to leave.

Speaking to the press as he was leaving, the MEP accused three left-wing and far-left groups, the Young Communists, Révolution Permanente, and La France Insoumise [LFI], of being behind the attack. Révolution Permanente, a Trotskyist group, and LFI, the party founded by three-time presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon, immediately denied any involvement, although several witnesses did spot LFI flags in the group. The local branch of the Young Communists, meanwhile, claimed responsibility.

Speaking from Paris, where he took part in the demonstration, Mélenchon, said: "I don't agree with the expulsion organized by the group claiming responsibility, the Young Communists, of Mr. Glucksmann in Saint-Etienne, but I note that he should have thought before speaking and accusing LFI." While condemning the violence that targeted Glucksmann, Manon Aubry, LFI's lead candidate in the European elections, condemned what she said were "lies against LFI" that "do no honor to democracy."

Disregarding Mélenchon's denial, Glucksmann brought up the incident again at a press conference held ahead of a rally in Villeurbanne, near Lyon, on Wednesday afternoon. He has been a target of the LFI members for months now. French-Palestinian lawyer Rima Hassan, who is running for LFI in the European elections, and LFI lawmaker Alma Dufour have both regularly taken aim at him, accusing him of complacency towards Israel and seemingly ignoring the fact that he too has been calling for a ceasefire.

Glucksmann did not exonerate LFI, arguing that the violence in Saint-Etienne was "the result of smear campaigns orchestrated on social media by certain political parties and leaders," who "decided to target not the far-right, but our campaign." He said that he has been receiving an avalanche of "hate messages, very often with anti-Semitic connotations."

Mélenchon, Glucksmann suggested, has a share of responsibility in the polarization of the political climate. The LFI leader must "stop brutalizing public debate" and stop "using verbal violence" that always ends up "translating into physical violence," Glucksmann said. On X, Green MEP David Cormand expressed his disappointment at this "remake of the irreconcilable lefts."