French left proposes consensus candidate for Assembly presidency

Paris, Jul 17 (EFE).- The left-wing coalition of the New Popular Front (NFP), in arduous negotiations to form a government, managed on Wednesday to agree to present tomorrow Thursday a common candidate for the presidency of the French National Assembly, the veteran communist André Chassaigne.

Chassaigne, 74, is the name agreed upon by La France Insoumise (LFI), the Socialist Party (PS), the environmentalists and the French Communist Party (PCF) to contest the fourth position in the hierarchy of the French state, which will be elected on Thursday at the opening of the legislative work.

A member of parliament since 2002, the politician from Puy-de-Dôme is expected to have around 190 votes, those of the NFP and its partners, ahead of those of the centrist alliance of French President Emmanuel Macron and the National Rally (RN) of Marine Le Pen, the second and third groups in the lower house respectively.

“We have the collective legitimacy to preside over the Assembly,” Chassaigne told reporters, adding that he would remain “faithful” to the values ​​of the four groups that make up the New Popular Front, which won the legislative elections of June 30 and July 7 by a few dozen seats.

For the deputy from the interior of France, his experienced profile and knowledge of the intricacies of parliamentary affairs have supported his selection by the left.

The communist will have several rivals in the vote, the first two rounds decided by an absolute majority and, if there is no result, by a simple majority and a third.

Macron’s Renaissance candidate Yaël Braun-Pivet, who was president between 2022 and 2024, is seeking to repeat her post, as is the far-right candidate Sébastien Chenu, among others.

Behind the scenes, there is speculation that Chenu might withdraw following the first round of voting, leaving the way open for Braun-Pivet to abstain if she manages to win the votes of the classic right and its partners, which would outnumber the left.

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