Billionaire seeks candidate: after supporting Donald Trump in the last presidential election, Bill Ackman made headlines recently by announcing his intention to fund a major centrist electoral campaign. Against Trumpism? No: against the left, in New York City, following the surprising victory of Zohran Mamdani in the Democratic primary for mayor.

The municipal election has taken on a distinctly national significance. Because a charismatic 33-year-old Socialist won the Democratic Party's nomination, much to the dismay of its leadership. Because he led a campaign that mobilized 50,000 volunteers and dramatically increased voter turnout in support of an ambitious program to tackle the high cost of living. Because he prevailed in one of the world's top economic powerhouses, in a country where the left has historically been marginalized, and because he is also Muslim. But also because Donald Trump appears to face little meaningful opposition since his return to the presidency.

No resistance? The "No Kings" protests against the Trump presidency received little coverage in France, but June 14 was one of the largest days of demonstrations in US history, with between four and six million people gathering across the country in more than 2,000 cities and towns. And that might only be the beginning.

Of course, more will be needed to stop an authoritarian streak that is determined to destroy what remains of freedoms in a society already battered in the past. The combative segments of the labor movement, who have had their back to the wall in the face of Trump's austerity, may regain their Biden-era dynamism. Networks of solidarity have been forming, particularly in response to the surge in racism, violence and arbitrary detentions targeting immigrants and some political opponents.

Closing the chapter

Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have been traveling through Republican strongholds with large working-class populations, denouncing the oligarchy in front of packed halls. Zohran Mamdani's victory has triggered a new wave of support for the flagship organization of the new Socialist left, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), with which Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez also identify.

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