Left Party (France)

Left Party
Parti de Gauche
Coordinators Eric Coquerel & Danielle Simonnet
Founded February 1, 2009 (2009-02-01)
Split from Socialist Party
Headquarters 20–22 rue Doudeauville, 75018 Paris
Membership  (2014) 9,000[1]
Ideology
Political position Left-wing
European affiliation Party of the European Left
International affiliation None
European Parliament group European United Left-Nordic Green Left
Colours           Red, green
Website
www.lepartidegauche.fr

The Left Party (Parti de Gauche, PG) is a French democratic socialist political party. It seeks to emulate the German political party Die Linke led by Katja Kipping and Bernd Riexinger.

History

People march waving flags during a demonstration against expulsions of foreign students on November 5, 2013 in Toulouse.

It was founded in November 2008 by former Socialist senator Jean-Luc Mélenchon and deputy Marc Dolez and others dissidents of the party together with the MARS movement (Mouvement pour une Alternative Républicaine et Sociale, "Movement for a Republican and Social Alternative").

They had left the PS five days earlier, in protest of the result of the Reims Congress vote on motions, where the leftist motion they supported won only 19%.

They were joined after by other members from the left of the Socialist Party, by people who hadn't been members of a political party before and by dissidents from the Green Party following the deputy Martine Billard.

In November 2013, the PG joined the international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel.[4]

Co-presidents and co-founders Mélenchon and Billard stepped down from office in 2014.[5] Since its 2015 congress, the party is led by its coordinators and spokespersons Eric Coquerel and Danielle Simonnet.[6]

Elected officials

Around 90 local elected officials (municipal, regional and general councillors), including two members of the Council of Paris, initially joined the party. This number has dropped since then.

The Parti de Gauche's previous logo

The PG has not yet run independently in an election, so its base of support is hard to pin-point.

European Parliament

European Parliament
Election year Number of votes % of overall vote # of seats won
2009 1,115,021 6.47%[7] 1[8]
2014 1,252,730 6.61% 1[9]

References

  1. ↑ Nina Bontemps-Terry (12 July 2014). "Le Parti de gauche, rongé par la désertion de ses militants". Le Point (in French).
  2. ↑ Denis Tugdual (5 April 2013). "Le Pen-Mélenchon: la mode est au langage populiste". L'Express (in French).
  3. ↑ Jean-Laurent Cassely (15 April 2013). "Le populisme «vintage» de Jean-Luc Mélenchon, trop élaboré pour être efficace". Slate (in French).
  4. ↑ "Le Parti de Gauche s'engage dans les campagnes boycott, désinvestissement, sanctions, à l'égard d'Israël". Le Parti de Gauche.
  5. ↑ "French far-left leader steps down, but not leaving politics". Radio France Internationale. 22 August 2014.
  6. ↑ "Le Secrétariat exécutif national". Le Parti de Gauche.
  7. ↑ Results of the Left Front which includes the larger French Communist Party
  8. ↑ Of the 5 Left Front MEP, 1 is a member of the PG
  9. ↑ Of the 4 Left Front MEP, 1 is a member of the PG
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