Raphaël Glucksmann, pro-European with Mélenchon ‘reluctantly’ to challenge Le Pen: ‘The far right is taking a turn of no return’

From our correspondent
Rowan – after all, the only one who doesn’t seem to give up on victory National Gathering and he, Raphael Glucksmann44 years old, and life on the European side, A Paris H Strasbourg But also for Tbilisi and Kievagainst nationalism and friends Russian President Vladimir Putin.

We meet him at Paul, the oldest brasserie in… Rawan In front of the cathedral he painted MonetA few minutes from the rally that will conclude the first phase of the electoral campaign, waiting for the vote tomorrow. “At the European Championship I was focusing everything on enthusiasm and cohesion in my project. Now I can’t. I’m just thinking about the serious danger we face. The far right coming to power in France is a scary scenario.” The leader, with François Hollandefrom the moderate stream New Popular FrontGlucksmann agreed to an alliance with the hard left. Jean-Luc Mélenchon “Unfortunately, only until the second round on July 7. After that, a new political season will open.”

Glucksmann asserts himself as an atypical politician, unable to claim confidence and optimism, at least not in the short term, and says he is “surprised by the televised debates: great discussions on details, when we are on the eve of a crisis, a turning point of no return, which could permanently change the face of France.” Just three weeks ago, when the political era was now far from over, Glucksmann had surprised the world. European Because his small partyPublic place», supported by the Socialists, has outperformed my competitors «Rebellious FranceJean-Luc Mélenchon, who succeeded in “snatching the European banner from Macron’s hands.” On June 9th, for less than an hour, Evening Man (except the obvious Jordan Bardella) It was him. Then Macron took over the scene: Early electionsand immediately.

“An unforgivable betrayal. That evening Macron enjoyed playing Nero, drunk on the sight of Rome burning. Now Pontius Pilate is doing the same: he has put us in this position, but he refuses to take a position between the far-right bloc and us on the left. His policy is “no and no.” Bardella was born MélenchonIt’s ridiculous. Because Mélenchon will never become prime minister, and we will never get an absolute majority, let’s face it. On the other hand, Bardella can do it well. I don’t even want to think about Prime Minister Bardella and Thierry Mariani, the man from Moscow.“The Kremlin’s junior correspondent to the Foreign Ministry.”

Since April 21, 2002, when Jean Marie Le Pen Excluded Lionel Jospin France has qualified for the second round of the presidential election, and has seen “the steady advance of the National Front”, which later became the Rally. His voters are clearly happy about this. But the political and intellectual class now seem a little used to this idea: either because they believe once again, as always, that Marine Le Pen will not really come to power; or because they are ready to see the impact she has. “I hear many of the men close to Macron saying: ‘Three years of Bardella, we will see’, but it doesn’t work that way, we cannot play with the future of France.”

In order to stop the National Front – “the only priority now” – Glucksmann accepted an alliance with Mélenchon, ignoring Weeks of anti-Semitic insults from France scare hardliners. He found himself with swastikas drawn on election posters, his mobile phone number circulated on Telegram channels on the far right and far left, and he received hundreds of “dirty Jewish” phone calls and text messages from both. When he joined the New Popular Front anyway, he also had to endure lessons of cohesion from those who blamed him for agreeing with Mélenchon.

“I only did it to stop Bardella.“He repeats. Many accuse the left of a Pavlovian reaction against the National Front, a tired form of automatic opposition based on an alleged and self-proclaimed moral superiority, which is increasingly unjustified given the alleged moral superiority. Derived from Hamas From the Ensomies. Why then do we have to do this anti-RN barrage? And if it can participate in the elections, isn’t it now a party like the others? Glucksmann is convinced no. Because the National Rally is that Maxi loan from Moscowthe party that every day and every day He wants to leave NATO and cut aid to Ukraine.But above all, “he is the one who wants to choose the citizens, and he is already angry with dual nationals and French people of foreign origin who are less French than others.”The extreme right It is that evening quietly called Ausländer Raus (“Foreigners abroad”, as the sons of pro-Nazi parents from Sylt sang a month ago) which I organized this evening here in the bar “Le Mora di Rouen” (it was later banned by and it is also the Montargis residents who They were caught on video while for months calling their black neighbor a “monkey,” as they say in France, and shouting “go to bed” but… Marine Le Pen “It’s not racist,” he says.

Glucksmann is not resigned to this, and hopes that the hesitations of other politicians will end on Sunday evening, “when they receive a blow that is more memorable than the previous ones, and they finally understand.” What will Macron do at that point? Will he ask his people to vote for the new Popular Front in the runoff to avoid Bardella in Matignon? “I don’t know. However, I hope that many of the men who have hitherto been part of its majority will abandon it, Join us».