This is a translation of the statement on the French election result by Nouveau Parti Anticapitaliste (NPA). There is a school of thought which argues that the strategy which defeated the far right has strengthened them. That would be a dialectical matter.

The far right has been pushed back by the popular mobilisation, it is now necessary to apply the programme of the New Popular Front 

The main lesson of the first results of this second round is the setback suffered by the National Rally (RN) and its allies. The defeat of the hundreds of fascistic, racist, Islamophobic, anti-Semitic and ultra-reactionary candidates that the RN had presented is a huge relief for people of colour, women, LGBTI+ people and workers. This victory of the United Left halted the momentum of the far right, which nevertheless gained about fifty seats. The defeat of the far-right of Bardella and Le Pen was the result of the popular mobilisation that was made possible thanks to the unity in action brought by the creation of the New Popular Front. 

This is already a victory for the New Popular Front, which has been made possible by the bringing together of the political, trade union and left, including the social movements, but also and above all by the mobilisation at the base of large sectors of the working classes, in particular people of colour and migrants and youth, who have everywhere committed themselves to blocking the RN. This mobilisation means that there will be arrival a very large number of deputies from the New Popular Front (including a relative majority for LFI) in the National Assembly elected on the basis of a programme that broke not only with Macronism at the service of the ultra-rich, but also with the liberal left of Hollande’s five-year term, which had implemented the policy of the right.  

Macron has no legitimacy 

The defeat of the RN should not make us forget that has significantly increased the number of its deputies and remains a threat to people of colour, to civil rights and democratic freedoms. Nor should we forget about the Macronists, who lost a third of their seats. If they still retain so many deputies, they owe it only to left-wing voters, who largely relied on them in the second round to block the RN. 

This blocking vote does not change the electoral results: in the European and legislative elections, Macron and Attal have been clearly disavowed and therefore no longer have any legitimacy to claim to lead the country. Macron now has no other option than to submit to the popular will and allow a left-wing government to implement the programme of the New Popular Front, which now has the legitimacy of the ballot box. Otherwise he must leave. 

This disavowal is also that of the 5th Republic and its authoritarian and undemocratic institutions. The popular mobilisation, marked by a participation not seen in decades, also poses the need to move towards a Constituent Assembly, for a true democracy of the majority. 

From now on, the commitments made must be kept, and all the emergency measures provided for in the New Popular Front’s programme must be applied, starting with the repeal of the pension counter-reform and that of unemployment insurance. This can only be done if the popular dynamic is maintained and expanded. This means building at the base collectives of the New Popular Front, open to all, which can make it possible to amplify the movement and build mobilisations and strikes in the coming months. No government of national unity can meet the aspirations expressed at the ballot box today. We must remain united to act, debate and outline a perspective of emancipation that will make the far right retreat in the long term, around a left of combat and rupture, a left that can radically transform this society! 

Montreuil, Sunday, July 7, 2024