“Victory is possible” … At Nupes HQ, we always dream of sending Mélenchon to Matignon

A few days before summer, a wind of hope is blowing this Sunday evening at the headquarters of the New People’s Ecological and Social Union (Nupes). In front of the entrance to the Factory, in the tenth arrondissement of Paris, the candidate Nupes Caroline Mecary smiles, even before the announcement of the results. “I am confident, because during the campaign, we felt the enthusiasm of the people on the ground. There is a real enthusiasm for the possibility of sending Jean-Luc Mélenchon to Matignon”, greets the lawyer. At 8 p.m., the results of the first round of legislative elections are displayed on the screens, to the cheers of the few dozen activists present.

“We see that victory is possible. It’s our turn to govern now, to implement our plan to transform society,” says Christian, his eyes glued to the screen. According to the estimates of five institutes, the left alliance is neck and neck with the presidential coalition Together! in total number of votes, from 25 to 26.2%.

“I call on our people to surge next Sunday”

Jean-Luc Mélenchon succeeded in the first round of his incredible bet. Beaten by a hair on the evening of the first round of the presidential election, he propels his Nupes as the main opposition force to Emmanuel Macron. A prospect that few people would have imagined, on the evening of his elimination on April 10. “This is the duel that we have installed since between the two rounds of the presidential election. By uniting the left, we succeeded in mobilizing those disappointed by the presidential election. I’m not getting fired up, but tonight we’re first, ”boasts Pierre Castex, a 19-year-old rebellious activist.

The room is agitated, Jean-Luc Mélenchon arrives to offer hugs, all smiles. A few minutes later, the person concerned is much more serious going up on the platform. In front of the cameras, the old tribune confides his “emotion” in the face of the results of his camp. “The presidential party is defeated […] For the first time in the Fifth Republic, a newly elected president fails to obtain a majority in the legislative election that follows, ”he says. “La Nupes comes first, it will be present in more than 500 constituencies in the second round, and therefore the projections in seats at this time have no meaning except to maintain an illusion, he says, looking serious. . I call on our people to surge next Sunday, to definitively reject the disastrous projects of the majority of Mr. Macron. »

“Mobilization will be one of the major challenges for next Sunday”

In the process, the left-wing leaders present this Sunday launch the duel that comes against Macronie. “The French have a choice. Either it’s a majority that will ruin the lives of the French, or it’s a majority that will make work pay, that will freeze prices against inflation. We will put all our strength into the battle to win, ”says Communist Party spokesman Ian Brossat.

“The evening result is a rout for Macron and an unprecedented fact. For Nupes, it’s a successful test that must last. We now need a major mobilization, this will be one of the challenges for next Sunday, ”says LFI MEP Manon Aubry. “We now want a real democratic debate, because the government has its share of responsibility in the historic abstention from this first round. They did everything to avoid having a political debate, in the continuity of the presidential election, ”denounces Leïla Chaibi, her colleague LFI in the European Parliament.

The union of the left now has a week to mobilize those who did not come this Sunday. Because despite a historic breakthrough, the polls indicate that Nupes will not have a majority in the second round, a sine qua non condition to propel Mélenchon to Matignon. A little earlier in the evening, a worried sympathizer precisely questioned the tribune on these projections in seat, favorable to Emmanuel Macron. The former deputy of Bouches-du-Rhône tried to reassure, as best he could, with his eternal banter. “It’s the percentage [national] who counts. The projections are to calm the bourgeois. »