The main lesson of the first results of this second round is the setback suffered by the Rassemblement national and its allies. The defeat of the hundreds of fascist, racist, Islamophobic, antisemitic and ultra-racist candidates put forward by the RN is a huge relief for racialised people, women, LGBTI+ people and workers. This victory for the united left has halted the momentum of the far right, which nonetheless won around fifty more seats. This defeat of the far right of Bardella and Le Pen is the fruit of the popular mobilisation that took place thanks to the unitive impetus provided by the creation of the New Popular Front.

This is already a victory for the New Popular Front, which was made possible by the rallying of the entire left – political parties, trade unions and campaigning groups – , but also and above all by the grassroots mobilisation of large sectors of the working classes, in particular racialised people and young people, who committed themselves everywhere to blocking the RN. This made it possible for a very large number of New Popular Front MPs (including a relative majority for LFI) to be elected to the National Assembly on the basis of a programme that breaks not only with Macronism in the service of the ultra-rich, but also with the liberal left of the Hollande mandate, which had followed the policies of the right.

The defeat of the RN should not hide the fact that it has increased its number of MPs very significantly and remains a threat to racialised people, social rights and democratic freedoms. Nor should it obscure the defeat of the Macronists, who lost a third of their seats. If they still have so many MPs, they owe it only to left-wing voters, who largely switched to them in the second round to block the RN. This blocking vote in no way changes the electoral results: in both the European and legislative elections, Macron and Attal were clearly disowned and therefore no longer have any legitimacy to claim to lead the country. Macron now has no option but to submit to the will of the people and allow a left-wing government to implement the programme of the New Popular Front, which now has the legitimacy of the ballot box. Otherwise, he must leave.

This rejection is also a rejection of the Fifth Republic and its authoritarian and undemocratic institutions. The popular mobilisation, marked by a turnout unprecedented in decades, also raises the need to move towards a Constituent Assembly, for a genuine democracy of the majority.

From now on, the commitments made must be honoured, and all the emergency measures set out in the New Popular Front programme must be applied, starting with the repeal of the pension and unemployment insurance reforms.

This can only happen if the popular momentum is maintained and extended. That means building New Popular Front collectives at grassroots level, open to everyone, which can help to amplify the movement and build mobilisations and strikes over the coming months. No government of national unity can respond to the aspirations expressed in the ballot boxes today. We must remain united to act, to debate and to map out an emancipatory perspective that will push back the far right in the long term, around a left that fights and breaks from the system, a left that can radically transform this society!

Montreuil, Sunday 7 July 2024

Source >> International Viewpoint

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