“The Republicans and the Socialist Party are only a shadow of their former selves.”
Once "governing parties," Les Républicains and the French Socialist Party are now moribund, according to Quebec's Le Devoir. On the one hand, Bruno Retailleau is trying to address a biased position between the Macronists and the National Rally. On the other, the Socialist Party, which is due to choose a new first secretary this Thursday, June 5, is seeking to exist within a left-wing bloc dominated by the Insoumis.
They were the masters of the game. Now they are reduced to playing the fly in the ointment. Once major governing parties that swapped power every five years, Les Républicains (LR) and the Socialist Party (PS) are now only a shadow of their former selves. The former, with its 49 deputies [including 7 affiliated members], is far from being able to compete with France's leading party, the National Rally (RN) and its 123 elected representatives [including 3 affiliated members]. The latter is still on life support since it only garnered 1.75% of the vote in the 2022 presidential election. Its 66 deputies [including 4 affiliated members] are far from representing its true strength, since they were elected with the votes of the entire left and part of the right to block the RN.
Coincidentally, these two parties are holding their congresses a few weeks apart in order to prepare their strategy for the 2027 presidential election. The Republicans have just appointed a new president in the person of Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, in whom they increasingly see a presidential candidate. For the Socialists, things are much less clear since they are struggling, after the first round, to choose the one who
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