Introduction
“Sometimes, there are irreconcilable positions on the left.” These words, spoken by former Prime Minister Manuel Valls in February 2016, seem more relevant than ever as France approaches its upcoming municipal elections in March 2026 and, particularly, the presidential election in 2027.
This article will explore whether, in a context marked by a rightward shift in public discourse and the dominance of the right in power, an electoral alliance among the French left is feasible and whether such an alliance is possible for the left to return to power in the 2027 presidential election.
A Long History of Unity and Division
In 1905, at the Globe Congress in Paris, the French Section of the Workers’ International (SFIO) was founded. This party brought together four main socialist factions of the time, represented by Jean Jaurès, Jules Guesde, Paul Brousse, and Jean Allemane. Beyond internal disputes, which were intrinsic to the socialist tradition of democratic debate, a major split occurred in 1920 during the Tours Congress. Three years after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, the SFIO was asked to vote on the 21 conditions for joining the Communist International. A majority of members, totalling 130,000, supported the proposal and left the SFIO to form the French Communist Party.
Despite this split, the two main forces on the left joined together in 1936 to create the Popular Front, which included the Socialists, Radicals, and Communists. This alliance enabled the left to come to power under the government of Léon Blum. However, on June 21, 1937, Blum was forced to resign following the gradual collapse of the coalition and the loss of a majority in the Senate.
Afterwards, a long period of confrontation between social democrats and communists took hold. The “Plural Left” coalition, which governed from 1997 to 2002 under Prime Minister Lionel Jospin during a cohabitation period, remains a rare exception. It included Communists, Socialists, Radicals, and Greens.
Recent Attempts at Unity…
More recently, in the 2022 legislative elections, the left united behind a common platform through the New Ecologic and Social People’s Union (NUPES), winning 142 seats in the National Assembly. However, this electoral strategy triggered strong opposition, particularly within the Socialist Party, which fielded 65 dissident candidates who rejected the agreement signed by the party leadership. The deal also sparked internal controversy within the Socialist apparatus.
Due to various political disagreements, the alliance was not renewed for the 2023 senatorial elections or the 2024 European elections.
President Emmanuel Macron’s surprise announcement of the dissolution of the National Assembly on the evening of June 9, 2024, European elections, in which the National Rally
came in first place, led to the rapid formation of a new left-wing coalition: the New Popular Front. This alliance surprised many by finishing first in the National Assembly with 180 seats, compared to 163 for the presidential majority and 143 for the National Rally and its allies. However, the president’s refusal to appoint a prime minister from this coalition prevented the left from taking power.
Although the coalition has not been officially dissolved, many internal differences have become apparent, particularly regarding Jean-Luc Mélenchon and his party, France Unbowed.
…But a Persistent Divide within the Left
Despite the creation of NUPES and the New Popular Front, tensions and disagreements persist over both policy and electoral strategy, particularly between the Socialist Party and France Unbowed.
In January 2025, unlike the Greens, the Communists, and France Unbowed, the Socialist Party refused to vote for a motion of no confidence against the current government, thereby allowing it to remain in office. This decision reignited existing tensions between the Socialists and France Unbowed. It is worth recalling that France Unbowed, founded in 2016 by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, was created in direct opposition to the centre-left, market-oriented policies pursued under President François Hollande (2012–2017). In response to the Socialists’ refusal to support the no-confidence motion, France Unbowed announced that it would run candidates against incumbent Socialist members of parliament who did not vote for the motion.
The divide is largely centred on strategic differences regarding how to engage with state power. It is another manifestation of the enduring opposition between a “governing left” and a more “radical left.”
United or Divided for 2026 and 2027?
The central question now is whether a united front of major left-wing parties is still possible for the upcoming elections.
For the 2026 municipal elections, unity appears unlikely. France Unbowed has already announced it will nominate candidates in several major cities currently governed by Socialist mayors, including Marseille, Lille, Montpellier, Rennes, and Paris. This places the Greens, who remain strong after the “green wave” of the 2020 local elections, in the difficult position of acting as potential arbiters.
As for the 2027 presidential election, a unified campaign with a single candidate is not impossible, though it remains a complicated scenario. Mélenchon’s party continues to benefit from his 22 per cent score in the 2022 presidential race. By comparison, the Socialists won 1.7 per cent, the Greens 4.6 per cent, and the Communists 2.28 per cent. At first glance, this suggests that an electoral alliance might naturally form around the France Unbowed leader. However, Mélenchon’s polarising views and controversial leadership remain unacceptable to parts of the left, who refuse to back a candidacy led by France Unbowed.
In response, the reformist left is attempting to organise a broader alliance that would bring together moderates, radicals, and social democrats. Meanwhile, the Greens, under the leadership of Marine Tondelier, are advocating for a citizen-led primary to select a common left-wing and environmentalist candidate for 2027.
This push has gained momentum following the publication of a Harris Interactive poll dated April 31, 2025, which showed that a united left could receive 26 per cent of voting intentions. That would be enough to reach the second round of the presidential election, trailing the National Rally (34 per cent) and ahead of the Renaissance party (19 per cent).
Another key finding from the same poll: even without France Unbowed, a left-wing alliance would garner 20 per cent of voting intentions. This would still be enough to surpass the Renaissance (18 per cent) and qualify for the second round, though still behind the National Rally (34 per cent).
Conclusion
The history of the French left is marked by a recurring tension between aspirations for unity and persistent tendencies toward division. While the ideological oppositions that shaped the twentieth century have partially diminished, strategic and programmatic divergences remain, however, in a context defined by a rightward shift in public discourse, the weakening of the presidential bloc and the rise of the far right, recent alliance efforts, although partial and fragile, have demonstrated that a unified dynamic can still yield significant electoral results. According to the Harris Interactive poll, a left-wing coalition, even without all of its components (such as France Unbowed), could qualify for the second round of the presidential election.
The issue is no longer whether the French left can unite behind a single presidential candidacy, as such a scenario now appears unrealistic. Given that France Unbowed will field its own candidate for the 2027 election, the more moderate, governing left is also expected to present a separate contender.
The key question, therefore, is which of these two candidates the remaining left-wing parties will choose to support. Alternatively, will the Greens and the Communists opt to pursue independent candidacies of their own?