On Saturday, July 13, the Parti Socialiste's national council did not approve the candidacy of former communist MP Huguette Bello for the post of prime minister. The president of the regional council of La Réunion, an overseas territory in the Indian Ocean, had the support of the Communist Party (PCF, communist) and La France Insoumise (LFI, hard left).
Since the second round of France's legislative elections, the Nouveau Front Populaire left-wing alliance that came out on top, has been unable to agree on a prime minister.
"There is no consensus on any name between us at this stage," said the Socialist Party's national secretary, Pierre Jouvet, in a statement to Agence France Presse (AFP). The Socialists wish to continue discussions with their partners, to find a consensual name "by July 18," the date of the opening of the legislature, he specified, at the end of a videoconference meeting.
"The Parti Socialiste is determined to find a name that will win consensus to become the prime minister of the Nouveau Front Populaire, which will be proposed to the president of the Republic," added Pierre Jouvet. The Socialist leaders agreed that Olivier Faure's candidacy was "still legitimate".
Manuel Bompard, the national coordinator of La France Insoumise, immediately blamed the Socialist Party for "blocking everything" in the negotiations, accusing it of bolstering what he called "the president of the Republic's power grab', since Emmanuel Macron has so far "refused to recognize the result of the elections".
The Socialists put forward several arguments against Huguette Bello, such as the fact that in 2013, the MP did not take part in the vote on the law legalizing same-sex marriage. Once the text was adopted, she was nonetheless the first mayor to celebrate a same-sex marriage in La Réunion, and in 2018 signed an op-ed against homophobia.
Refusing to give in to "pressure" from "LFI," who claimed that only the Socialists were refusing Huguette Bello's candidacy, the Socialists confirmed that the Ecologists have not taken a position on the Reunionese candidate either. The entourage of Green leader Marine Tondelier told AFP that "no decision has been taken" on their side: "We need some collective time," they said. The same source also said that Marine Tondelier had spoken to Huguette Bello on the phone on Friday.
Huguette Bello, 73, was a member of the Communist group in the French National Assembly for 23 years. For communist leader Fabien Roussel, she has "what it takes" to become prime minister, as "she knows what it's like to work in Parliament and build majorities. She's respected, she has authority". La France Insoumise leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon also praised Friday evening her as a "racialized woman and feminist anti-racist".
The woman from Reunion Island is also appreciated by the outgoing majority: Gabriel Attal, then Minister of Education, described her in 2023 as a "great Republican." In April, Aurore Bergé, the minister in charge of equality between women and men, hailed her as a "fighter for human dignity and women's rights".
Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr; the publisher may only be liable for the French version.