Ecologist Councillors Join Sophia Chikirou’s LFI Campaign for Paris Mayoral Elections
Paris, January 29 – Two ecologist Paris councillors, Jérôme Gleizes and Emile Meunier, announced on Thursday their decision to join Sophia Chikirou, the La France Insoumise (LFI) candidate for the Paris mayoral elections. This move signals a break from their party’s strategy of allying with the Socialists from the first round.
A Rupture with the Party Line
Emile Meunier, a councillor for the 18th arrondissement, stated to AFP, “We have very often been in conflict with the social-democratic policy pursued in Paris, whether on urban planning issues, on the place of advertising, what we call ‘LVMHisation’.” Meunier had previously voted against the ecologists’ rallying to a left-wing union, excluding LFI, led by Socialist Emmanuel Grégoire.
‘Popular Greens’ Collective and Programmatic Integration
In total, 20% of the eligible places on the LFI list for the central mayoralty and arrondissement mayoralties will be reserved for ecologist candidates gathered in the “Popular Greens” collective. Sophia Chikirou explained, “We spent a lot of time working on the program.” Among the green proposals integrated into her program are the evolution of the Parisian ring road into an “urban boulevard” and the commitment to “no longer artificialize a single square meter.”
A Broader Movement of Dissatisfaction
The two Parisian elected officials, who claim to be “several dozens” making the leap in Paris, are among the approximately 400 signatories of an op-ed published on Monday in Mediapart. This tribune criticizes the alliance strategy of the national leadership of Les Ecologistes party. The signatories refuse to be “the crutch of a social democracy that intends to exclude La France Insoumise and chooses to turn its back on the program and the unitary logic of the New Popular Front.” This Parisian alliance strategy echoes the one recently announced in Montpellier.
National Stakes in Municipal Elections
Sophia Chikirou commented that “the municipal election is not disconnected from national issues.” She regularly criticizes Emmanuel Grégoire for his votes as a deputy in the National Assembly, particularly for having validated the 2026 budget alongside the Macronist deputies. On Tuesday, she reproached him on X, stating, “In Paris, Grégoire calls himself left-wing. But in the Assembly, his votes are clear: brutalization of Parliament, austerity, cuts in health, culture, ecology, social.”
Reaching Out to Abstentionists
The LFI candidate, who is holding her first major meeting on Friday, also wishes to begin fieldwork this weekend to “seek out abstentionists,” particularly young people and residents of working-class neighborhoods. She specified, “Our objective is to reach the 30% of voters who voted for Mélenchon in 2022 because if they adhered to the ‘Common Future’ project, it means they adhere to the ‘New Popular Paris’ project.”
Internal Disagreements within Les Ecologistes
David Belliard, the former ecologist list leader, reacted to the news, telling AFP that “Jérôme Gleizes and Émile Meunier expressed their disagreement during internal discussions on the choice of union with the left-wing forces that wished it, they were largely in the minority.” He assured that he would “ensure that nothing is done to facilitate the victory of the radicalized right in Paris.”
This development highlights the ongoing tensions and realignments within the French left as municipal elections approach, particularly in a key city like Paris where political alliances can significantly impact national dynamics.
Source: https://actu.orange.fr/politique/municipales-a-paris-des-elus-ecologistes-rejoignent-sophia-chikirou-CNT000002n2L3W.html
