Left Front Able to Form Parliamentary Group in French National Assembly

The ten Left Front deputies should be able to create a parliamentary group in the French National Assembly with the inclusion of five of their “overseas progressive” colleagues.

“We’re going to perpetuate a Democratic and Republican Left-style group with the overseas deputies, who’ll make it possible for us to be operational straightaway. There’s unanimity on the part of the ten Left Front deputies on the formation of a 15-member group, which will be a Democratic and Republic Left (GDR) style group,” André Chassaigne of the French Communist Party (PCF) explained. The deputy from the Puy-de-Dôme, who was re-elected June 17 with over 60% of the votes, is expected to be the group’s president. He said he hoped to finish the formation of the group by the end of the day.

Fifteen deputies…

At the beginning of the last Parliament in 2007, the Democratic and Republican Left group was formed with 24 deputies belonging to or associated with the PCF, the Left Party [1], the miscellaneous left groupings from overseas, and the ecologists. Last Fall the ecologists decided to leave the GDR group and join the ranks of the deputies not belonging to any group.

To form a group, 15 deputies are required, and ten Left Front deputies – nine belonging to or associated with the PCF, and one Left Party member – were elected in the June 10 and 17 legislative elections.

Discussions had reached an “advanced” stage on the afternoon of June 19 with the “progressive” deputies from La Réunion, Martinique, and Guadeloupe, and the agreement was to be “finalized by the end of the afternoon.” The La Réunion deputy Huguette Bello (miscellaneous left [2]) and the Martinique deputy Alfred Marie-Jeanne already belonged to the alliance with the Left Front [3] in the GDR group in the previous Parliament.

… in the framework of the majority

André Chassaigne emphasized that the future group would view itself as “clearly in the framework of the left majority.” He however recognized that he “[does] not yet know” whether the Left front deputies will vote to approve the general policy speech that Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault is to make in early July.

André Chassaigne, whose presidency at the head of the GDR group will, of course, have to be approved of by the five overseas deputies, explained his desire to “express a strong political voice.” “We’re not going to spend our time throwing live grenades at the ministers. We have a constructive position, to change the bills that are going to be submitted to us in a positive way.”