The crisis is not over at the head of the Socialist Party (PS). While the first secretary, Olivier Faure, was narrowly re-elected as head of the party after a recount of the votes and against a backdrop of accusations of fraud, the latter announced on Monday January 23 that he had proposed to his beaten opponents, Nicolas- Mayer Rossignol and Hélène Geoffroy, a “collective management”. He was, however, opposed to the idea of having “three or four first secretaries” at the head of the rose party.
“They asked me to organize a board”reported Olivier Faure from the party headquarters, located in Ivry-sur-Seine (Val-de-Marne), after a meeting with his two competitors. “I told them that I was in favor of a collegial tool, which allows everyone to feel associated with all the decisions that are those of a political party”he detailed.
The one who has been the leader of the Socialist Party since 2018 recalled having won the ballot and having outstripped his two competitors by a large head in the first round of January 12, with “49% of the votes”, before ” a second [Nicolas-Mayer-Rossignol à] 30 % » et ” a third “, Hélène Geoffroy, who achieved a score of 20%. This is why, according to him, the PS cannot “put everyone on the same step of the podium”.
No recount of votes or new election
At the end of this tripartite meeting, “nobody asked to reopen the verification commission”, responsible for reviewing the vote of the activists, as was still the case in the morning, assured Olivier Faure. A new count carried out on Sunday by this commission confirmed the election of the latter, with 51.09% of the votes, against the 48.91% collected by the mayor of Rouen.
The deputy of Seine-et-Marne also refused the idea of a new vote, claimed by Hélène Geoffroy, mayor of Vaulx-en-Velin and leader of the Dutchists. With the approach of the party congress to be held in Marseilles from Friday to Sunday, ” It is going to be difficult “ et “I’m not sure that in the period [de contestation sociale] who opens the priority is to come back to vote the next few weeks ”he explained, while specifying that Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol was of the same opinion.
The two men also informed the journalists present at the headquarters that the first secretary had proposed to Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol the head of the PS list in the European elections of 2024. The latter declined the proposal and added in a tweet acerbic: “They don’t buy me with postss. »
In order to reach an agreement before the party congress is held in Marseilles, the three participants in the meeting confirmed that they would meet again in the coming days, after consulting their respective supporters.
“I am hopeful that everyone will come to their senses and something positive and collective”, said Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol at the end of the meeting. This last “was very serious and very serious, because the situation is dramatic for the PS (…). We told ourselves things clearly, we now have to find the solutions”, concluded the mayor of Rouen.