French Left Parties Oppose Socialist Presidential Hopeful's Proposal Of Primary

Leftist political forces in France have largely dismissed the initiative of Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo to hold a primary to elect a single candidate from the left for the upcoming presidential election

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 09th December, 2021) Leftist political forces in France have largely dismissed the initiative of Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo to hold a Primary to elect a single candidate from the left for the upcoming presidential election.

On Wednesday, Hidalgo, who is running for the 2022 presidential vote from the French Socialist Party, proposed to the other leftist parties selecting one candidate to represent the entire wing in the election.

"A primary does not solve anyone's problem. Today we need to look not for a person, but for something for which we will unite," Fabien Roussel, the Communist Party's presidential candidate, told the BFMTV broadcaster on Thursday.

Besides Roussel and Hidalgo, other leftist candidates in the April vote include Yannick Jadot of the Europe Ecology - The Greens party, Jean-Luc Melenchon of the France Unbowed party, and former Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg, running as an independent.

Their individual electoral ratings are relatively low, not exceeding single-digits.

"Whatever happens, I will not participate in a left-wing primary," Jadot told the Europe 1 broadcaster on Thursday.

Given that voting is in several months, the approach of each candidate should be "more serious," he added.

Melenchon has not commented on Hidalgo's proposal, but Eric Coquerel, a lawmaker representing his party in the lower chamber, rejected the idea of a leftist primary.

Montebourg, however, supported Hidalgo shortly before she publicizing it on TF1. The independent candidate said in a letter to the leftist parties that he was ready to offer his candidacy "to a joint project as a common candidate" in the face of what he described as "political peril" from far-right parties ahead of the election.