«The debate between us should not be whether we are for or against the rallying of the left. But what the Socialist Party can bring to the rest of the left,» he said in a speech to the militants the first secretary, who supported the desire for an alliance with LFI, EELV and the PCF for the legislative elections, despite the opposition of certain «elephants» of the party.
«It is by making the left stronger that we will be stronger again», he hammered, to be «the alternative» to a possible victory for the far right in 2027.
He invited activists and elected officials to act to strengthen the PS. «We need a strong party. Because without a strong Socialist Party, the left will always miss the final step.»
«The debate in this party (around Nupes) has been lively», he admitted a little earlier to the press, regretting that «some seek to maintain the conflict and to organize a rearguard debate in the congress «, expected early next year.
– «go back» –
Its opponents, hostile to the Nupes, are beginning to come together and the leader of the minority current, the mayor of Vaulx-en-Velin Hélène Geoffroy, has confirmed that she will carry a project to «refound» the party and take its leadership. head by «unifying those who have the same vision of a central PS».
«Could it come down to anything but Faure? It could,» said former first secretary Jean-Christophe Cambadélis.
«Activists do not want to know how we get out of the agreement, but how we strengthen it (…) by expanding it», for his part assured Olivier Faure.
«Who is seriously proposing to go back? To do what? If not with the rest of the left with whom then?», he questioned in his speech, inviting the party to «unity» .
A message heard by the president of the Occitanie region Carole Delga, who had supported the dissidents to the Nupes agreement during the legislative elections, but appeared on Friday alongside the first secretary.
Anne Hidalgo, the former socialist presidential candidate, did not take the same approach, contenting herself with going to a drink at the Paris federation, without meeting the management.
PS spokesman Pierre Jouvet, close to the first secretary, says he is «reasonably optimistic» for the congress because «Olivier Faure has gained credibility with the general public».
«If we want to reaffirm the PS on the left, now is not the time to give another face to the head of the party», sums up the mayor of Cintegabelle (Haute-Garonne) Sébastien Vincini.
For Senator Patrick Kanner, «it all depends on how Olivier will position himself vis-à-vis LFI».
But he notes, for the moment, «a speech of affirmation of the socialist identity», in particular with the proposal of Mr. Faure of a referendum of initiative shared on the super-profits of the companies. «He did not ask the opinion of LFI, to show that Nupes is not the caporalization of the different parties», argues Mr. Kanner.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne announced on Saturday that she was not «closing the door» to a taxation of «super profits». «I have no confidence in what they are doing,» replied Olivier Faure after his speech.
In the morning, the First Secretary attended a debate between Nupes partners, which notably brought together the leader of the PS deputy Boris Vallaud, the European deputy Yannick Jadot and the LFI deputy Clémentine Autain.
The latter also called for Nupes to engage in the many parliamentary fights for the start of the school year and in «a social protest», in the street, with a large march that LFI wishes to organize. Without formal agreement from the other partners for the moment.