"The program, nothing but the program": at the summer universities of La France Insoumise, activists and elected officials denounce the rest of the left

The summer universities of the rebels conclude on Sunday, August 24 in Valence. All eyes are already on the 2027 presidential election, with a deliberate solo strategy.

The summer universities of the rebels near Valence, in the Drôme department, have come to a close. To close these Amfis, on Sunday, August 24, speeches by Manuel Bompard and Mathilde Panot. This year, the political return of the rebels takes place as several left-wing parties, notably the Socialist Party and the Greens, are trying to agree on a common candidate for the 2027 presidential election. This will be without the rebels, who are determined to send Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

LFI activists are taking it upon themselves to go it alone. No one at the summer universities imagines LFI stepping aside behind a left-wing union in 2027. " A joint candidacy, yes, but behind LFI!" says one activist. A possible left-wing primary, "it's a trap ," dismisses Léo, a young activist from Lyon. "We don't know who will vote in the primary. It's not just left-wingers who vote in the primary. Right-wingers also come to vote to have the left-wing candidate who suits them best: a Roussel, a Ruffin, or a soft social democrat like Hollande," justifies the young man.

In the firing line: the socialists in particular, often booed, as during a speech by LFI deputy Antoine Léaument: "Eight times out of eight, La France insoumise voted to censure François Bayrou. Only twice did the Socialist Party vote to censure François Bayrou," he asserted to cries of disapproval from the audience.

The rebels are trying to position themselves as a force faithful to their values, uncompromising, at the risk of dividing people, of failing to unite around them. For Annie, an activist from Drôme, the door to LFI is open to others on one condition: "We're on the program and nothing but the program. Now, whoever wants to come, but they know there's a program, " she laughs, " we're on it, we won't deviate. We stand by our shoes!"

Among the rebels, everyone agrees to go it alone in the 2027 presidential election. But not everyone agrees with the idea of ​​sending Jean-Luc Mélenchon again. "He has worked hard and now he needs to rest," says one activist . "I think someone else is needed to take over. There are other people who can take over his legacy and embody it within LFI." Who will take over when Jean-Luc Mélenchon retires? The rebel leader is 74 years old, and refuses for the moment to address the subject of his political succession.