Editorial: Liberation

• English poet Philip Larkin could describe the left-wing candidates in the European elections, not worrying their political rivals but battling amongst themselves.
• Jean-Luc Mélenchon has called on his troops to attack Raphaël Glucksmann, the socialist list leader, but within his own party, Glucksmann is asked to moderate his pro-European impulses.
• Three friends leading the lists, Raphaël Glucksmann (nominated by the PS), Marie Toussaint (The Ecologists) and Manon Aubry (LFI), could almost consider campaigning together, but the order from Paris is to differentiate as much as possible.
• In all polls, though uncertain, the RN is the clear winner with the Macronist party in second place, represented by Valérie Hayer. Meanwhile, left-wing parties are struggling to pass the symbolic threshold of 10% of voting intentions.

Conclusion: The left-wing candidates for the European elections find themselves in a dilemma of competing amongst themselves instead of uniting against right-wing and center-right parties. This is significantly limiting their performance in the polls.

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