A prominent figure in the far-left New Popular Front electoral alliance in France allegedly said, “eradicating” right-wing populist leaders.
Clémentine Autain has drawn fire for seemingly endorsing violence against populist politicians on French national television in support of Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) party.
She emphasized that the leftist New Popular Front, consisting of her own leftist La France Insoumise (LFI) party, the Socialists, the green Écologistes, and the French Communist Party, must secure a majority in the National Assembly. “If we could eradicate all of them, that would be great,” she said on LCI, as reported by Entrevue magazine.
The longstanding LFI member of the French National Assembly and current candidate for the 11th Seine-Saint-Denis seat in the snap elections swiftly recanted the ostensibly aggressive remarks.
“Well, it’s not the appropriate word to eradicate them, but it would be great if we could significantly lower the far right’s score,” she remarked.
Gilbert Collard, a right-wing populist member of the European Parliament, responded to her remarks by saying, “No to hatred! These lunatics pose a threat.
Over the past year, the left in France has been extremely divided due to disagreements over Israel and the Gaza conflict. However, last week, the left-wing parties came together under the name of the “New Popular Front,” which is a nod to a similar leftist alliance in France prior to World War II, to fight the perceived threat of the “extreme right.” President Macron called the snap elections, expecting Le Pen’s National Rally to emerge victorious after losing to Le Pen’s party in the European Parliament elections earlier this month.
Polémique après les violences verbales de Clémentine Autain (LFI) du #nouveaufrontpopulaire sur les députés RN : « Si on pouvait tous les éradiquer, ce serait formidable. Euh… C'est pas le bon mot… » : Non à la haine ! Ces fous sont dangereux ! pic.twitter.com/CozpycwmxW
— Gilbert Collard (@GilbertCollard) June 16, 2024
Autain, who has criticized the leadership of the far-left LFI party for not designating Hamas as a terrorist organization, is believed to be one of the more moderate voices within the party, despite her seeming Freudian slip of “eradicating” her political opponents.
Former presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the head of La France Insoumise and the most powerful voice in the New Popular Front, has also drawn criticism for his extreme remarks made during the campaign.
In a speech on Friday, Mélenchon outlined his plans for the new leftist bloc in the National Assembly and asserted that racism is one of the main problems facing France, making individuals who identify as “native French” dangerous to the country.
