Hello, it’s lunchtime in Paris and President Emmanuel Macron has a guest, his prime minister Jean Castex.
What happened yesterday? Prime minister Jean Castex announced the increase of a subsidy that will benefit taxpayers who use their cars for business purposes.
Why does it matter? The measure aims to limit the pressure of gas prices on households. Purchasing power is the main concern for public opinion, according to multiple polls.
A kind of ghost vote will start on Thursday with a goal almost impossible to meet : crowning a single leftwing candidate on Sunday. La Primaire populaire (“People’s primary”) was initiated several months ago by two activists, an environmentalist and an entrepreneur, frustrated by the ongoing bickering within this camp. Polls already showed that the chances that one of the seven principal candidates will reach the second round were e close to zero.
The two activists thought it would be possible to turn the tables through civic pressure. If enough citizens were willing to sign up for an online poll and if a vast majority rallied behind one candidate, it would be difficult for the losers to turn a deaf ear and continue their campaign as if nothing had happened.
But this initiative has piled up a mountain of obstacles instead of clearing the way. First, la Primaire populaire lacks muscle. Activists wrote a ten points platform, a wish list vague enough not to upset anyone. It focuses on fighting climate change, social justice, and reinvigorating democracy without catchy propositions.
No leading figure (an increasingly rare species in this camp) supports it. It took Anne Hidalgo’s brief consideration of participating in December for the media to look into it. In total, 467,000 French citizens registered. It’s a decent number, superior to the 122,670 who took part in the green party primary but still hardly impressive. By way of comparison with a previous one, more than 2,000,000 citizens voted for the Socialist primary in 2017.
The principal environmentalist party members chose Yannick Jadot as their candidate in September. The Socialist Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, was nominated by her party in October. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the highest-ranking leftist in the polls, began his third and last presidential campaign by saying in November that he had been endorsed online by 150,000 citizens.
Those three candidates are now fighting this unofficial and non-recognized primary vigorously, even if their names are on the ballot along with those of three glorious unknown citizens and Christiane Taubira, a center-left former justice minister. She made her candidacy conditional on a victory in this primary. Controversial statements by one of the founders gave the impression that the initiative was intended to boost her bid, which increased distrust.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s camp now reduces la Primaire populaire to “a sort of poll without any of the basic rules respected to guaranty its sincerity”. The candidate himself attacked it fiercely, denouncing “a joke.” The environmentalist candidate, Yannick Jadot, said he respects the voters but is not concerned with the outcome. Consumed mainly by a faltering campaign and tensions with her party leadership, Anne Hidalgo is on the same page.
If Christiane Taubira wins on Sunday (the choice will be made through a ranked voting system), she will simply add her candidacy to an already crowded field. That is exactly what la Primaire populaire wanted to avoid. To make matters worse, a survey published by “Le Monde” last Saturday showed that the former justice minister is not bringing on new voters. On the contrary, she takes ballots from all her rivals, further reducing the chances of a left-wing candidate reaching the second round. With such a success, don’t be surprised if a large number of left-wing voters shun the voting booths in April.
Number of the day
36
This is the number of days elected representatives will have to sponsor a presidential candidate. Each candidate needs 500 sponsors to run officially for president. The race for sponsorships will begin on Thursday with the publication of the decree convening voters. The almost 42,000 elected officials, including about 34,000 mayors, entitled to sponsor a candidate will have until Friday, March 4, to submit their declaration of sponsorship.
Quote of the day
“We can have sometimes profound differences”
The environmentalist candidate Yannick Jadot spent a good part of a radio interview on Tuesday highlighting the differences with his main rival, leftist candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon. “I completely recognize that Jean-Luc, and therefore La France insoumise, has evolved on ecological issues, and that’s good. But you must also recognize that we can sometimes have profound differences,” he said. “I am not in favor of exploiting the seabed, I think it should be protected. I’m not in favor of conquering the sea and conquering space to transport our productivity. And I am pro-European. I want to change this Europe, but I am pro-European,” he added.
Countdown
74 Days until the presidential election’s first round
88 Days until the presidential election’s second round
Thanks for reading, see you tomorrow