{"id":883,"date":"2024-06-24T21:08:25","date_gmt":"2024-06-24T21:08:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/projects.ieimedia.com\/2024arles\/?p=883"},"modified":"2025-07-11T07:23:20","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T07:23:20","slug":"leftist-candidates-speak-at-arles-demonstration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/projects.ieimedia.com\/2025arles\/leftist-candidates-speak-at-arles-demonstration\/","title":{"rendered":"Leftist politicians speak at Arles demonstration"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Story by Sofia Langlois
Photos by Thomas Murphy
Video by Sophia Maxim<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Citizens of Arles in support of a new left-wing coalition gathered at Place de la R\u00e9publique 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event provided an opportunity for leftist political candidates to take aim not only at the National Rally but at incumbent President Emmanuel Macron. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe is not interested in Arles,\u201d said Nicolas Koukas of the French Communist Party, who is running for the 16th electoral district of the Bouches-du-Rh\u00f4ne. \u201cAnd we need to have in the country elected territorial officials who know people, who know their worries, who know their problems.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Koukas is a candidate of the Nouveau Front Populaire<\/a>, a wide-ranging leftist alliance formed on June 10 in response to Macron\u2019s decision to dissolve the National Assembly. The organizations involved include La France Insoumise<\/a>, Les \u00c9cologistes<\/a>, Place Publique<\/a>, the French Communist Party and the French Socialist Party, among others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Nouveau Front Populaire formed in opposition to the Rassemblement National<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Protestors sheltered under umbrellas while listening to candidates, including Nicolas Koukas (facing the crowd, second from right,)<\/em> Photo by Thomas Murphy.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Koukas, a citizen of Arles, delivered an impassioned speech at the June 22 protest. \u201cWhere is [Macron] in the fights?\u201d he asked. \u201cWhere is he in the struggle?\u201d Koukas suggested Macron\u2019s administration had neglected public services such as the Arles Hospital and Miramas\u2019 public freight service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe is not there. He is nowhere. He is elsewhere,\u201d said Koukas.<\/p>\n\n\n

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A post shared by The Arles Project (@arlesproject)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n