Eight months before the presidential election, the Socialist Party (PS) wants to play in the big leagues, that of the parties that can conquer power. For the moment, this is far from being the case. In Blois (Loir-et-Cher), where Olivier Faure’s party is making its comeback, we feel that it is now that things are happening. On October 9 and 10, then October 16 and 17 for the second round, the PS and its partners (Place publique of Raphaël Glucksmann and the Republican and Socialist Left of Emmanuel Maurel) will choose their common candidate during an open primary. For 15 euros (10 euros for the social rate), each voter will be able to participate.
In the agora of the Halle aux Grains, in Blois, everyone only talks about that. “We are the only ones to organize an open primary,” boasts Olivier Faure, who hopes to be “overwhelmed” by the number of participants. The first secretary, who will only announce his candidacy in a few days, knows that a primary which creates debate, imposes its themes and which attracts several hundred thousand voters would focus attention on its winner. And would potentially offer him a dynamic capable of competing with Jean-Luc Mélenchon (La France insoumise), currently at the head of the left. “The quality of the debates, without fistfights and around the real problems of the country, will make it possible to broaden the electorate,” wants to believe Sébastien Vincini, president of the Haute-Garonne department and member of the PS leadership.
Favorite Glucksmann
“This primary comes at the right time. We have to create momentum,” says Jérôme Durain, president of the Burgundy-Franche-Comté region. “We have a collective interest in everything going well because we must not choose the wrong opponent,” recalls Boris Vallaud. The president of the socialist deputies put the brakes on his own ambitions to support Raphaël Glucksmann, who appears to be the favorite in this election in which deputies Jérôme Guedj and Philippe Brun, as well as Ségolène Royal, are also candidates.
The MEP indeed benefits from the support of the socialist currents of the mayor of Rouen, Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, and Boris Vallaud. They appeared together, at the end of the afternoon, in front of the Halle aux Grains, welcomed by Olivier Faure and applause. “There is a demand for responsibility in all currents of the PS,” notes Guillaume Garot, deputy for Mayenne, early supporter of Raphaël Glucksmann. “When you are attacked by those close to you, it always turns against the chosen candidate,” he recalls.
The PS has apparently learned from its mistakes. The rose party has been talked about more by its divisions than by its ideas in recent years. In 2022, Anne Hidalgo did not exceed 2% in the first round of the presidential election. A humiliation that activists do not want to relive. The possibility of seeing the far right come to power next May is also a powerful driving force. While the left total tends to increase after remaining for years below the 30% mark, the PS no longer wants to make up the numbers and wants to believe in this primary. François Hollande will not participate. Arriving late in the afternoon in Blois, he dreams of appealing at the end of the year, if the nominated candidate does not emerge. At the Halle aux Grains, no one believes it. His proposal to increase VAT to allow a reduction in contributions is not attractive. But no one gossips. At the PS, no one wants to insult the future anymore.
