A few weeks after concluding an agreement in view of the legislative elections, the parties forming the New People’s Ecological and Social Union (Nupes) published a shared program on Thursday 19 May, in the hope of forming a government if they obtain a majority in the National Assembly. La France insoumise (LFI), the French Communist Party (PCF), the Socialist Party (PS) and Europe Ecologie-Les Verts (EELV) thus put forward 650 joint proposals.
If certain points of disagreement persist between the various parties of the alliance, these remain assumed: in the event of a victory for the left, they would be the subject of parliamentary debates where each could present their arguments and vote according to line, or even be submitted to a referendum.
The shared program, even negotiated, stems very largely from the presidential program of LFI, whose presidential candidate, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, came out well ahead of the left-wing parties. The nuances or disagreements between parties are, on the whole, reservations expressed by the PCF, the PS or EELV in relation to LFI’s proposals.
This program is divided into eight chapters, some of the key measures of which we decipher here, either because they go further than the proposals made during the presidential campaign, or because they become, when adopted by all, markers of the left, or because they are the subject of major disagreements.
The joint program between LFI, the PS, EELV and the PCF begins with a chapter dedicated to “social progress, jobs and pensions”. Fifty-nine proposals are listed there, ranging from the reduction of working time to the increase of the minimum wage to 1,500 euros per month, through the repeal of the El Khomri law, the restoration of retirement at 60 or even the tenure of public service contractors.
Some points of friction between the different parties of the alliance remain. Among the most notable is that “the Socialist Party will not support the abolition of all stock options and the tenure offered to all public service contract workers”
With 139 proposals, it is the most extensive part of the program of this alliance on the left. The Nupes wishes in particular to include in the Constitution a “green rule, which imposes not to take more from nature than it can replenish”raise the objective of reducing greenhouse gases to 65% by 2030, lower VAT on public transport, eliminate airlines when the alternative by train is less than three hours.
The points of disagreement between the parties concern in particular the exit from nuclear power, or the limitation of hunting practices. The PS specifies that it will not support in the National Assembly the proposal to regulate agricultural prices by maximum prices.
In the event of accession to the government, the Nupes has planned to implement 102 proposals to improve public services or avoid their privatization. In addition to the promise to guarantee access to all essential public services within thirty minutes of any place of residence, the PCF, LFI, PS and EELV intend to recruit 100,000 caregivers for the public hospital and open 500,000 places in nursery.
Among the key measures, the idea of establishing “100% security” remains a source of disagreement. The PS warned that it would also not support the repeal of the LRU and Fioraso laws, relating to the university, and the principle of university autonomy.
The program also includes 100 proposals on taxation, the fight against poverty, digital coverage and the right to housing. There appear measures such as the restoration of a climate wealth tax (ISF), the creation of a public banking center, the renationalization of airports, highways and the Française des jeux, the freezing of prices or even the rent control.
This chapter contains 46 proposals, the main objective of which is to establish a 6e Republic, to strengthen citizen participation, parliamentary debate and“end with the presidential monarchy”. It is a question of popular initiative referendum, proportional suffrage, as well as granting the right to vote to foreigners in local elections and fighting against the influence of lobbies.
- Equality and the fight against discrimination
Some thirty proposals are made in favor of equality between women and men, to “guarantee new rights” (there is, for example, the project to include the right to contraception and abortion in the Constitution), fight against racism and anti-Semitism or even improve the living conditions of seniors.
Measures taken by associations, such as releasing one billion euros to fight against violence against women, are listed. In line with legislative battles waged on the left in recent years, the extension of paternity leave to be identical to maternity leave has also been announced.
Only one point of disagreement remains on the subject of prostitution.
One of the main objectives of this chapter in 46 measures is to increase the means allocated to justice. There is a long talk about a refoundation of the police, with fourteen measures ranging from a review of police training to their control for an independent body other than the IGPN. Finally, proposals are made for “change strategy on addictions and drugs”legalize cannabis and improve child protection.
- European Union and international
Unsurprisingly, the nuances and disagreements between the parties forming the Nupes are more numerous than elsewhere in this part of the program, in priority on the objectives in European matters. It reads, in the preamble: “We share the common objective of putting an end to the liberal and productivist course of the European Union and of building a new project at the service of the ecological, democratic and united bifurcation, even if our histories with the European construction differ. »
There follows a list of 99 points, which are as much major directions as specific proposals, such as “transforming the common agricultural policy”, “extend social rights”, “putting the economy at the service of the climate and citizens”, “Eradicate tax evasion” or “Welcome exiles with dignity”.
To a lesser extent, this part of the program also deals with military issues, the strengthening of the role of the United Nations Organization, planetary common goods such as water, or even the role of the overseas territories. The question of France’s place in NATO, a long-standing subject of division between left-wing parties, just like the French presence in the Sahel, is not the subject of joint proposals but appears in the list of subjects “left to the wisdom of Parliament”.