Will the French Communist Party be able to count elected officials among its candidates after the European elections? The poll results are not optimistic, but Léon Deffontaines wants to believe in his chances and those of his running mates.
In the battle for the European elections, the French Communist Party (PCF) is having difficulty making itself heard. On the left, the party finds itself good last in the poll results and cannot approach the 5% needed to sit in the European Parliament. Despite these difficulties, the party’s position is clear and assumed: it refuses alliances with the other major left-wing parties which are too disconnected on the question of sovereignty and climate or exploits the Palestinian cause according to the PCF.
Conversely, Fabien Roussel’s party, which wants to be popular and rural, seeks its allies in smaller movements. The list led by Léon Deffontaines brings together three other groups: the Republican and Socialist Left (GRS) founded by MEP Emmanuel Maurel, L’Engagement, a movement created by former socialist minister Arnaud Montebourg, and Les Radicaux de Gauche.
Designated in September 2023 on the occasion of Huma Day by Fabien Roussel to lead the 2024 European campaign, Léon Deffontaines quickly became a figure in the PCF. Before being head of the list, this unknown to the general public was the spokesperson for the Communist Party, and before that for Fabien Roussel. The 27-year-old is very proud to represent the party which he believes continues to grow.
Originally from Amiens, like a certain Emmanuel Macron, he takes care to point out that he and the Head of State are not from the same world and have not been to the same school. He is a public school child. Unlike his adversaries in the next election, Léon Deffontaines does not yet have any major political achievements but he got involved very early. At 17, he joined the Lutte Ouvrière party for the municipal elections in Amiens, before moving closer a few years later to the party of his current mentor, Fabien Roussel. Until June 9, the European candidate intends to continue to mark his differences with the other left-wing parties and wishes to bring together as much as possible to create a barrier to the party of the presidential majority and especially to the far right of Jordan Bardella, who mainly targets the same voters from “peripheral French” and “territories”.
The list of the PCF and its three allies was made official by the Ministry of the Interior. The party had already announced 73 candidate names, leaving until the last minute to decide on the final seven. But of the 81 candidates, how many will be able to be elected to the European Parliament? This will depend on the result obtained by the PCF in the European elections.
A list must obtain at least 5% of the votes in the European elections to see some of its candidates elected. The number of people elected out of the 81 candidates present on the lists of each party is proportional to the result obtained on election day. A minimum of 5% gets 4 seats, 10% gets 8 seats, etc.
But Léon Deffontaines being shown between 2 and 3% in the poll results, he does not seem able to join the European Parliament with his running mates for the moment. It should be kept in mind that poll results and projections are only predictions representing voting trends at a given time and cannot be understood as reliable predictions.
In the European Parliament, Léon Deffontaines and his running mates intend to denounce “austerity treaties” and liberal Europe” while opposing the enlargement of the European Union. The entire European campaign of the PCF gravitates around the world of work which faces, according to them, several problems.
The first axis on which the PCF wishes to act on a European scale concerns the democratic question and the way in which European citizens are asphyxiated by austerity policies and competitiveness policies. The second part titled “taking power over capital” refers to Europe’s industrial, energy, agricultural and digital sovereignty. The PCF also wants to work on improving public services and keeping liberalization policies in check. Finally, the head of the PCF list wishes to “conquer social progress and equality” and guarantee peace and collective security with regard to conflicts internal and external to Europe, particularly on subjects such as NATO and policies. migration in Europe. Through these five main axes, Léon Deffontaine also wants to bring European issues closer to the daily lives of the French. The head of the list has the slogans: “purchasing power, peace, environment”.
