According to the management, the text determines that his rival Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, skeptical of the left-wing alliance Nupes and who has so far contested his victory, will become first secretary delegate alongside the mayor of Nantes pro -Faure Johanna Rolland.

Hélène Geoffroy, leader of the anti-Nupes, will take over the presidency of the national council, the party's parliament.

Marginal adjustments were still under discussion at noon, on the second day of the Congress, at the Palais du Pharo.

"We are ready for an agreement", at the end of a "transparent and democratic exchange", explained Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol to the press, after having presented him to his supporters.

Mr. Mayer-Rossignol says he embodies a central line, less pro-Nupes than that of Olivier Faure.

He does not hide his reluctance vis-à-vis LFI and an agreement that has disappointed many socialists.

Asked by AFP whether he recognized that Mr. Faure was now indisputably the first secretary, he defended, without specifying, that it was about "global governance".

The term "collegiate leadership", which he wanted, was not retained in the text, said management.

Both sides spent the night negotiating.

organizational chart

The talks notably concerned Olivier Faure's proposal to integrate his rivals into the management team, but in recognition of his victory.

"There is an architecture to be built in respect of what the militants have expressed", explained the leader of the deputies Boris Vallaud, that is to say a "balance of the balance of power" which translates into "national secretaries themes" and in "the order in the organization chart".

Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol (c), former candidate for the post of First Secretary of the PS, arrives at his party's Congress on January 27, 2023 in Marseille © Nicolas TUCAT / AFP

After a first vote on the orientation text, Olivier Faure had obtained 49% of the votes and the mayor of Rouen around 30%, ahead of a third candidate, the mayor of Vaulx-en-Velin Hélène Geoffroy ( around 20%).

The negotiations were notably unblocked when the latter, who had not been able to maintain herself and had decided to support Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, indicated that she did not wish to integrate the management, but to remain in the opposition.

"They assume to be the minority, but are no longer with Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, which changes the situation" and the balance of power, explains a close friend of Olivier Faure.

"Our goal is to bring people together and not crush them", explained this same source, while the internal war between the two camps has fractured the party and damaged the image of the PS, already weakened by the historic failure of its presidential candidate, Anne Hidalgo (1.7%).

But the relative of the outgoing boss of the PS stressed that among the militants of Olivier Faure, gathered Friday evening, the tension had been "strong", because they had "recovered" after the accusations of fraud in the vote formulated by Nicolas Mayer- Nightingale.

© 2023 AFP