02/03/2009 (Agence Europe) - French MEP Pierre Pribetich (PES) has expressed his disquiet at what he sees as the cynical way French Socialist Party candidates have been allocated to the lists for the forthcoming European elections. Pribetich, who has been an MEP since July 2007 has spoken of a “purge” of outgoing Socialist elected representatives, 20 out of 31 of whom have been placed in positions from which they are unlikely to be re-elected. He says that the work done by his 20 colleagues has been deemed “useless because it doesn't fit in with the tendencies that have come out of a congress among political friends”. He was sharply critical of short-term political allies being “parachuted” into a good place on the lists. Pribetich, an elected representative in Dijon, and an ally of Pierre Moscovici, has refused to appear in 6th position on the Socialists' East constituency list, when those place 2nd and 4th have no local connections. (A.B./transl.rt)