Mediated by left-wing candidates who wanted, did not want or no longer want to participate, the popular Primary announced on Monday that it had crossed the 250,000 registered mark, more than double than a week ago. On January 10, the organizers claimed 120,000 registered.
A quarter of a million people thus wish to take part in the vote of “investiture” which will take place from January 27 to 30 to designate the candidate that it will support among seven personalities, from the left. If they all vote, it will be the largest primary, far ahead of the Green vote in September (122,000) and the Republican Congress in early December (nearly 140,000).
While the left currently has six main candidates, none of whom can compete with the right and Emmanuel Macron for the first round of the presidential election on April 10, “we invite all voters who want to win the ecology and social justice to express themselves before January 23 at midnight”, the closing date for registrations.
730,000 euros in donations received
Of the seven candidates selected, former Keeper of the Seals Christiane Taubira, who declared herself a presidential candidate on Saturday, saying she would bow to the result of the vote, MEP Pierre Larrouturou and candidates from society civil Charlotte Marchandise and Anna Agueb-Porterie assured that they would comply with the results. The communist Fabien Roussel – who also said “no”, the Lutte Ouvrière candidate Nathalie Arthaud and Philippe Poutou for the NPA were not selected by the Popular Primary although they officially applied.
VIDEO. Christiane Taubira: “I am a candidate for the presidency of the Republic”
Jean-Luc Melenchon and Yannick Jadot strongly rejected the idea to participate in a first round on the left before the hour, and following calling for a primary, Anne Hidalgo finally gave up. Samuel Grzybowski and Mathilde Imer “hope to see”, however, the candidates or representatives of the Popular Union, EELV and the PS participate in the hearings they organize on Wednesday and Thursday to gauge the candidates.
The organizers also announced that they had “passed the bar of 14,000 small individual donors”. Of the 730,000 euros in donations received as of Saturday, the median donation was 23 euros and 433 people gave more than 200 euros. The “Popular Primary” has also taken out 175,000 euros in loans.
