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Author : E. Osipov
senior research associate, Institute of World History, Russian Academy of Sciences, Candidate of Science
(History)
HAVING WON in the second round the primaries of the French
Left. Benoit Hamon became the presidential candidate of the So-
cialist Party, an unexpected or even sensational victory that per-
fectly fits, however, the latest election trends in the West.
THE FRENCH KNOW that the state hasn't got €300 billion to
spend and that the 32-hour workweek will do nothing good to
economic growth. Hamon's victory speaks of the high level of
protest sentiments in society.
At the Socialist primaries, people did not vote for Hamon but
rather against the political class and its high-level left members
who, led by President Hollande, had failed to attain the aims and achieve the tasks that had
brought them to the Élysée Palace in 2012 in the first place. Hollande had promised to fight un-
employment: during the five years of his presidency, more people lost their jobs. Hamon, on the
other hand, who left his post of the Minister of Education in 2014 to protest official politics, is
seen as a Frondeur among the Socialists.
Hamon's success is a good sign for Macron: many of those who voted for Hamon did not treat
the left primaries seriously. It looks like in April 2017 the French left will vote for much more
popular Macron who will compete with François Fillon and Marine Le Pen with good chances
to win.
FIVE YEARS of Hollande's presidency pushed French socialism into a crisis. In late 2016, the
coming primaries were presented as the first step toward a revival. However, the victory of
Benoît Hamon who offered a Utopian program is likely to deepen the crisis and postpone the
revival. Funding will cause another headache. To vote at primaries, people had to pay yet the low
turnout at the two rounds did not bring enough money to finance a large-scale presidential cam-
paign of the party's new leader.
The fact that Emmanuel Macron, a recent Socialist, resolutely refused to join forces with any of
those who ran in the primaries, at least in the next few months, speaks volumes. He deemed it
necessary to point out that he did not believe in the party's future. Macron is not alone. This
means that Benoît Hamon must cope with many challenges: so far there are no victories in sight.
French Socialism in Crisis