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What Happened to France's Socialist Party? Ell Folan: On 7 May 2012, François Hollande narrowly defeated incumbent Nicholas Sarkozy, ending 17 years of conservative presidencies in France.A month after his win, Holland's centre-left Parti Socialiste (PS) and its allies won an overall majority in both chambers of parliament. The stage seemed set for PS to reshape France. Ten years later, those days seem remarkably distant. PS now holds just 25 seats out of 577 in the French National Assembly. Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris and the PS presidential nominee, is struggling to poll higher than small communist parties; one poll placed her in eleventh place. How did this happen? Like many stories of centre-left decline, the PS's can be ascribed to its adoption of rightwing policies, its appointment of unpopular leaders, the loss of some of its base to the far right and factionalism. Any one of these might have been enough to spell defeat in 2017; all of them at once has decimated the party. First, some context. Like the UK, France does not have proportional representation; MPs and the president are elected in a two-round system, with only the top few candidates going through to a run-off. This two-round system has left the PS watching from the sidelines more than once, but in 2012 they triumphed. Yet the millions of voters who had elected them quickly become disillusioned. Hollande, elected on a program of taxing the rich and supporting trade unions, pursued multiple labour reforms that weakened trade unions, raised workers' pension contributions and made it easier for firms to sack workers – reforms that were bitterly opposed by his own base and the public. CONTINUE READING ➡︎ Picks of the week... REPORT Inside the Volunteer Networks Sustaining Ukraine by Volodya Vagner Putin claimed there was no Ukrainian nation. Well, there certainly is one now. Volodya Vagner reports from Lviv on the massive popular mobilisation the war has prompted. Read more... INTERVIEW We Asked Post-Soviet Leftists What the Western Left Is Getting Wrong on Ukraine by Diyora Shadijanova Leftist narratives of the war in Ukraine have occasionally fallen prey to over-simplification and self-centrism. Four regional activists share their frustrations with Diyora Shadijanova. Read more... READ MORE ON NOVARAMEDIA.COM ➡︎ We need your help... We've got big plans for our written journalism, aiming to bring you even more analysis, opinion and reporting than we've been able to before. Setting up a regular monthly donation is the best way to help us sustain our work, grow our output, and expand our reach. Support us with a monthly donation, and you'll help bring even more people with us on a political journey over the next decade. We ask for the equivalent of one hour's wage a month, or anything you can. Alternatively, you can support us with a one-off donation. We know times are really tough, so any support you give does not go unnoticed. Thanks so much – we really couldn't do this without you. Copyright © 2022 Thousand Hands Ltd. All rights reserved. You can choose which emails you receive from Novara Media (including our newsletters 'The Cortado' and 'The Pick', updates on what we're working on and ways you can support our work). Manage your preferences here. Thousand Hands Ltd is a private company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales #11245029. Its registered address is 96 Castle Lane West, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH9 3JU. Novara Media is a trading name of Thousand Hands Ltd and, as such, the individual shall have no personal liability arising out of such communication, and liability or obligation rests solely with Novara Media. Opinions or advice contained in this email are subject to the terms and conditions set out in the relevant terms of business and are not necessarily agreed or authorised by Thousand Hands Ltd. We have taken all reasonable precautions to ensure that no viruses are transmitted from Novara Media to any third party. Novara Media accepts no responsibility for any loss or damage resulting directly or indirectly from the use of this email or the contents. Novara Media is regulated by IMPRESS, the independent press regulator.

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