The rise and decline of Left populism in France
The rise and decline of Left populism in France

Author(s): PHILIPPE MARLIÈRE
Subject(s): Politics, Political Philosophy, Political Theory, Political history, Sociology of Politics
Published by: Институт друштвених наука
Keywords: Jean-Luc Mélenchon; France Insoumise; Left populism; People; Elites; Oligarchy
Summary/Abstract: In the run-up to the 2017 presidential election in France, Jean- Luc Mélenchon who, so far, had been associated with the Radical Left, formed a new movement called La France Insoumise (Unbowed France - FI). Mélenchon’s populist strategy in launching FI was blatant. This was an attempt to organize the masses along the lines of an agonistic cleavage between ‘the people’ and ‘the elite’, as well as to forge a radical break with the collective forms of leadership and action on the French Left. With the demise of the Parti socialiste (PS), the gamble paid off as Mélenchon received significant support from segments of left-wing voters in the first round of the presidential election. In true populist fashion, the FI leader has attempted to federate ‘the people’, and not simply left-wing voters. He has ceased to use the notion of Left altogether. What defines FI’s populism is the role and the centrality of the leader. Mélenchon’s style, strategy and politics have energized fragments of the left-wing electorate (the young and working-class voters notably) but they have also created tensions with other parties of the Left. Those organizations fear that Mélenchon’s ‘populist moment’ may be detrimental to the future of left-wing politics in France altogether.

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