New left coalition sought in France due to Mélenchon’s stance on Hamas

After far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s La France Insoumise has been criticised over its response to the recent Hamas attack on Israel, the French Communist Party is pushing for a ‘new sort of collaboration’ among other left-wing groups in France.

Left parties are angry with Mélenchon’s position on Hamas

“The gravity of the international situation, as in France, requires the left to shoulder its responsibilities. Unfortunately, it has not”, the French Communist Party, also a member of the left-wing alliance NUPES, stated, FranceInfo reported.

The PCF proposes dissolving NUPES, the coalition formed for parliamentary elections in June 2022, at its National Council meeting. It has created an “intergroup” of left-wing MPs in the National Assembly.

Communists want a new alliance of left parties instead of LFI-dominated NUPES

The communists said in a statement that the NUPES, which was “formed under the hegemonic will of LFI (Mélenchon’s party – ed.), has become a dead end.”

Among the motivations provided were “the recent refusal to describe Hamas atrocities as terrorist acts” and “insults from LFI leaders comparing the PCF leadership to Nazi collaborators.”

This “weakens the rallies required for Middle East peace and the fight against the Israeli army’s war crimes,” according to the French Communist leadership.

The PCF’s position was almost overwhelmingly adopted, with 36 votes in favour and one against.

The Communists wish to unite the people from the left in a union that respects their differences. “It is time to open a new stage for the left with a new type of union”, they said.

All left-wing parties, including LFI politicians, are invited to respond.

Socialists called Mélenchon’s stance on Hamas “a political disgrace”

Meanwhile, two other significant parties on the left spectrum of French politics, Socialists and Greens, have expressed their worries over Mélenchon.

Last week, the Socialists announced their intention to withdraw from NUPES for the time being in protest to Mélenchon’s and his party’s controversial stance on Hamas.

While the Socialist Party has not yet left NUPES, pressure is increasing on First Secretary Olivier Faure to do so.

Former Socialist Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, who left the PS because of the alliance with LFI, and 20 left-wing MPs write in an open letter published in Le Point that “the alliance with LFI is, in this context, a political disgrace and a moral fault, the danger of which we have denounced from the outset.”

“After the scandal created by LFI’s stance refusing to treat Hamas as a terrorist organisation, the union of the left has never been so close to separation”, the statement reads. Two of the 31 Socialist MPs were among those who signed the appeal.

Greens think about a new left coalition without Mélenchon

The Greens have also expressed worries. “I’m at a loss for words regarding Jean-Luc Mélenchon. I have the impression that he and his camp are pursuing a strategy of perpetual conflict,” said Marine Tondelier, the Green Party’s leader.

According to her, Mélenchon’s positions are not even shared by all of his party’s members. For example, Alexis Corbière and François Ruffin have publicly distanced themselves from the trouble. As a result, they may be included in a new left coalition.

Mélenchon failed to condemn Putin and failed to condemn Hamas

The NUPES, which had been a source of hope for many people on the left in France and helped Mélenchon to capitalise on it and obtain around 20% of votes in two Presidential elections in a row, has not become a source of despair.

Interestingly, Mélenchon failed to condemn Russia’s war against Ukraine and Putin regime’s aggressions abroad, starting with the Crimea annexation, like Moscow failed to condemn Hamas’ attack on Israel.

In his statements on foreign policy, Jean-Luc Mélenchon consistently condoned aggressions if Russia or Russian-backed forces conducted them and which fit his anti-American views.