Red, everything is red.

Under the marquee of this iconic monument in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, dozens of flags in the colors of the far left party, born in 2009 from the former LCR (Revolutionary Communist League), are waved in the stands.

Below, on the circular stage, the Trotskyist candidate traces the strong line of his speech: "My program is not a list of promises to show off", he declares.

It is quite simply a project of rupture with capitalism".

Saturday afternoon, the leader of the NPA recalled wanting to cage the "dangerous scam" of the capitalist system, and "hustle, even overthrow this power" held by "Macron and his gang", at the same time in the first meeting campaign on the Arena stage in Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine).

Supporters of presidential candidate Philippe Poutou (NPA) at a meeting on April 2, 2022 in Paris Sameer Al-DOUMY AFP

"We are here! We are here! Even if Macron does not want it!".

In the room, the crowd resounds with the songs of the "yellow vests" and the walls shake with applause.

"We all want to hit the same nail: employers, French or international", summarizes Loïse, a 23-year-old student.

The former worker at the Ford factory in Blanquefort (Gironde) also says he defends the idea of ​​a "decent life for everyone", with an increase in the minimum wage to 1,800 euros net per month as well as a reduction in working time of work.

How to compensate?

Draw from "the fortunes that accumulate", he suggests.

And the white-hot crowd added: "There's money! In the employers' coffers!".

For the far-left candidate, it is also a question of "expropriating and socializing whole sections of the economy" to put it back in the "hands of the people".

In the plural, because the internationalist candidate also dreams of a "world without borders, of solidarity and cooperation between peoples".

"Distance running"

Credited with 1 or 1.5% of voting intentions in the first round, neck and neck with his working-class rival Nathalie Arthaud, Philippe Poutou keeps his feet on the ground.

Above all, he wants to "make an impression" and "gain political credibility" over the few days of campaign he has left.

A score identical to the presidential elections of 2012 and 2017.

"1% is really demoralizing. I don't see why you are applauding!", he jokes in front of a hilarious room.

But "we don't really want to win," he said.

"It is social struggles that change lives, not presidential elections."

Presidential candidate Philippe Poutou (NPA) at a meeting on April 2, 2022 in Paris Sameer Al-DOUMY AFP

This could be the last national election of the CGT trade unionist.

In the stands, Patrick Le Moal, a 72-year-old and anti-capitalist activist since 1969, believes that it would be "good to change" and "to have a woman" in five years.

Léo Limasset, 20, explains that anti-capitalism is de facto "a class struggle, everyday and over the long term".

Although adhering to the great ideas of this movement "all the time in the debates", he will vote Jean-Luc Mélenchon on April 10, a candidate to whom he feels closer.

As for the question of the "effective vote" in favor of the Insoumis, whose polling tendency gravitates around 15%, the NPA candidate has only one answer: "What is useful is to vote anti-capitalist ".

While advancing that "the so-called electoral barrier against the extreme right, this multi-headed monster, is a pipe. The real battle is fought in the street".

Under this vault which has seen the most beautiful stars of the circus pass, a tribute was also paid to that of French Trotskyism, who died in mid-March: Alain Krivine.

Olivier Besancenot, spokesperson for the NPA and friend of the deceased, called for "continuing his fight", stressing that "building a better world is not a sprint. It's a long-distance race."

© 2022 AFP