'Mother of all battles': France's leftists put up united front against Marine Le Pen's far-right bloc

France’s left-wing parties have converged to form a new coalition to put up a united front against the far-right bloc led by Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN).

The leftist coalition, the New Popular Front (NPF), comprises the Socialists, Greens, Communists, and the far-left Unbowed parties. The Socialists’ leader Raphaël Glucksmann has said the coalition has to wage the “mother of all battles” against the far-right forces.

In the opinion polls ahead of the French parliamentary elections, the Le Pen’s far-right bloc is expected to emerge as the biggest group . They are followed by the NPF and President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist bloc is projected to be a distant third.

Following the rout of centrists in the European Parliamentary elections this month, Macron dissolved the parliament and called snap elections. The elections will be held in two rounds on June 30 and July 7. Macron’s centrists are staring at a rout in the elections , as per predictions.

In France and elsewhere in Europe, such as in Germany, the right-wing parties emerged as the biggest gainers in the EU elections. The French elections are therefore taking place in the shadow of the surge of right-wing forces in Europe .

Even though the leftists have come together under the banner of the NPF, the alliance is not easy. It’s a major compromise for the Socialists to come to terms with the far-left Unbowed party. Glucksmann told The Guardian that the party must swallow a bitter pill for the sake of the bigger picture.

“It’s complicated … I’m not going to tell you it’s a marriage of love,” said Glucksmann.

What’s agenda of NFP alliance?

The leftist NFP alliance has come up with a manifesto they believe would attract voters affected by the various crises they are facing.

The Guardian reports that the NFP’s manifesto has the following promises:

• Hiking the minimum wage

• Freezing the price of essential goods and energy

• Reversing the rise in pension age from 64 to 60

• Raising taxes on income, property, wealth, and inheritance

The promises have, however, attracted criticism. The critics have said that these promises would incur costs between €100-200 billion, according to the paper.

While the NFP has rejected the criticism and the figures, the bloc has not given its own figures.

‘Left must put disagreements aside’

Patrice Bessac of the Communist party, one of the NFP members, has said that the left must put aside its disagreements as the challenge from the right-wing parties is much bigger than their differences.

Bessac said the only thing that mattered was electing a government that was not run by Le Pen’s RN party.

“The danger from the far right means the left must put disagreements aside and campaign together. The only thing that matters is that we propose a new path for the country that is not the RN,” said Bessac, as per The Guardian.

Bessac further said, “People here are afraid. They know the far right’s first target will be the immigrant population and working-class areas like ours.”