It is an acknowledgment of failure.
Many socialist elected officials, including first secretary Olivier Faure and several mayors who are members of Anne Hidalgo's campaign team, called on Sunday evening for a "union of left forces" in the legislative elections, after the historic defeat of Anne Hidalgo. in the presidential election, with around 2% of the vote.
"Tonight I launch a solemn appeal to the left and ecological forces, to the social forces, to the citizens ready to commit themselves in order to build together for the legislative elections a pact for social and ecological justice", declared Olivier in particular. Faure on social networks.
"To repeat our mistakes would be a mistake, let's choose the rally", he insisted, aiming at the formation of a "pole of resistance to the liberal reforms" carried by Emmanuel Macron.
In a separate statement, several party executives, including Johanna Rolland, mayor of Nantes, Matthieu Klein, mayor of Nancy, or Michaël Delafosse, mayor of Montpellier, also called for "the union of leftist forces and environmentalists."
Dam at the National Rally in the 2nd round
"The legislative elections must be the time for a start and for the debate which could not take place during the presidential election. We must learn the lessons of the ballot and conclude without delay a social and ecological pact which will be available in all territories" , is it in particular written in the press release, also signed by the president of the Occitanie region Carole Delga, the deputy Boris Vallaud, the mayor of Rouen Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, or the spokesman of the PS Pierre Jouvet.
Olivier Faure called "unambiguously" to block the National Rally by voting Emmanuel Macron against the far-right candidate Marine Le Pen.
But, for the outgoing president, it will be necessary "to seek" the voices of the left, he warned.
"You will have two votes in hand", he developed: in the second round of the presidential election "to defend the Republic", then in June "to block Emmanuel Macron's political project during the legislative elections".
If "the Socialist Party sees part of its history come to an end tonight", "everything can also start again", concluded the secretary general of the PS, whose candidate Anne Hidalgo obtained around 2% of the vote.