Story by Sofia Langlois
Photos by Thomas Murphy
Video by Sophia Maxim
Citizens of Arles in support of a new left-wing coalition gathered at Place de la République on June 22. Theirs was one of many recent protests across France opposing the far-right Rassemblement National in a contest for control of the National Assembly.
The event provided an opportunity for leftist political candidates to take aim not only at the National Rally but at incumbent President Emmanuel Macron.
“He is not interested in Arles,” said Nicolas Koukas of the French Communist Party, who is running for the 16th electoral district of the Bouches-du-Rhône. “And we need to have in the country elected territorial officials who know people, who know their worries, who know their problems.”
Koukas is a candidate of the Nouveau Front Populaire, a wide-ranging leftist alliance formed on June 10 in response to Macron’s decision to dissolve the National Assembly. The organizations involved include La France Insoumise, Les Écologistes, Place Publique, the French Communist Party and the French Socialist Party, among others.
The Nouveau Front Populaire formed in opposition to the Rassemblement National, a right-wing French nationalist party that promotes populist and anti-immigrant values. It was founded by politician Jean-Marie Le Pen in 1972 and was formerly known as the Front National. The party gained popularity after it acquired a less extremist image under the leadership of his daughter, Marine Le Pen.
In the European Union elections of June 6, the right wing gained seats in delegations of many of the 27 member countries. In France, the centrist Renaissance Party, led by Macron, received 14.6% of the vote, significantly defeated by the Rassemblement National, which received 31.6% of the vote.
Macron dissolved the National Assembly, thus launching early legislative elections in France. The two rounds of voting will take place on June 30 and July 7.
Koukas, a citizen of Arles, delivered an impassioned speech at the June 22 protest. “Where is [Macron] in the fights?” he asked. “Where is he in the struggle?” Koukas suggested Macron’s administration had neglected public services such as the Arles Hospital and Miramas’ public freight service.
Koukas encouraged the people of Arles to push for a selection of government officials who have their interests at heart. He accused the president of neglecting Arles as a prominent city in the nation.
“He is not there. He is nowhere. He is elsewhere,” said Koukas.
Macron’s presidential term ends in 2027 and left-wing supporters are trying to prevent Le Pen from entering government. If the far right gains a majority, the president would likely appoint Jordan Bardella as prime minister, granting him limited authority over domestic and economic affairs. Bardella would serve under the terms of cohabitation laws, which gives the position to the party with the majority of seats in the National Assembly.
As a means of preventing conservative politicians such as Le Pen and Bardella from holding office, those in opposition took to protesting. The movement quickly gained traction and demonstrations have been held in several cities.
Koukas concluded his speech by promoting the Nouveau Front Populaire. He emphasized that its leadership does not define the group but rather the citizens who support the left-wing values it was built on.
“We will be there to defend,” Koukas said. “That is what brings us together today and what makes us strong because the Popular Front is not Christophe or Nicolas. The popular front is you.”
Sophia Maxim contributed to this report.
Featured image: Nouveau Front Populaire candidate Nicolas Koukas and others march on rue Gambetta in Arles. Photo by Thomas Murphy.