On Wednesday 10 July, the European Parliament’s The Left group welcomed Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the La France Insoumise party, a member of the left-wing electoral coalition that won the French parliamentary elections, the Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP).
As talks on forming a government continued in Paris, Mr Mélenchon, who is calling to be appointed Prime Minister, expressed “intense relief”, denouncing a “racist, sexist and classist wave” of far-right extremism in Europe.
When asked about the NFP’s economic programme, which some critics believe does not comply with EU fiscal rules, Mr Mélenchon strongly criticised Europe’s “neo-liberal” policies. In his view, these policies are at the root of France’s “excessive” budget deficit, which has reached 5.5% of GDP in 2023.
On Tuesday, the European Commission officially proposed opening an excessive deficit procedure against France and six other EU countries (see EUROPE 13449/17).
“We have no interest in a head-on clash with institutions capable of the worst, such as the European Commission”, retorted Mr Mélenchon. And he added: “There is only one way to solve the problem of excessive deficits, and that is obviously to increase revenue. On behalf of the coalition, I pledge that there will be no additional expenditure that is not matched by additional revenue”.
Ukraine. With regard to the situation in Ukraine, M. Mélenchon advocated, in the “general interest of Europeans”, opening discussions on the safety of Ukrainian nuclear power stations, suggesting the demilitarisation of sensitive areas.
“We would have an initial base from which to begin establishing peace zones of peace and limits on fighting. This is how to move forward calmly, wisely and reasonably towards general negotiations”, he said, calling for the restoration of “the autonomy and sovereignty of Ukraine”. (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)