Former minister Christiane Taubira - a possible candidate for the April 2022 presidential election - has said that ideological "convergences on the left" are sufficient to enable a left-wing coalition to govern France for the next five years, despite divisions that have been highlighted during the early stages of campaigning.
In an article published by Le Monde last week, Taubira called on the other left-wing candidates to embark on "a new collective adventure" heading into the 2022 polls.
According to the former Minister of Justice under François Hollande, the forces of the left - currently fragmented between several candidates for the Elysée - are "linked by a collective destiny that transcends personal feelings."
For Taubira, there is no lack of convergence on the great debates - notably on climate change, public services or school reform - despite her acknowlegement that France's left-wing parties have "a proven propensity to invent insurmountable quarrels" between themselves.
« Je sais pour qui je veux me battre, pour qui nous n’avons pas le droit d’être incapables de tout surmonter, pas le droit de nous complaire dans la torpeur. »
— Le Monde (@lemondefr) December 29, 2021
La tribune de @ChTaubira ⤵ https://t.co/jtoN0pIwbE
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Divisions on left-wing primary
The former minister did recognise the ideological differences that exist on the left, including the France's relationship with the European Union and the debate over energy sources.
In the interview, she questioned how many of these disagreements were insurmountable, once again believing that a primary pre-selection is necessary for the left "to decide on major issues".
Paris mayor and Socialist party presidential candidate Anne Hidalgo has also said she is in favour of a primary.
But the far-left's Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the Green Party's Yannick Jadot and Communist leader Fabien Roussel have all refused.
Christiane Taubira also called for an end to "economic predation" and an increase in the minimum wage as part of a wider overhaul of taxation policy, which would see the reintroduction of a wealth tax.
Taubira, who has left little doubt that she would run in a future primary for a left-wing candidate, reaffirmed the essential role France plays as a secular Republic.
She concluded that France's left-wing parties must be prevented from languishing "in torpor" at the risk of seeing the youth despise them, with others considering the Left as insignificant.
