“He only voted once… but without trembling!” The return of François Hollande at the National Assembly is accompanied by his colleagues socialists of those “little jokes” that the Corrézien is so fond of. Elected on the New Popular Frontthe former President of the Republic has been rather discreet since this summer… in the hemicycle at least.
Outside the Chamber, he has been busy travelling and appearing in the media. Following the publication of a book in September, he is launching a podcast this Saturday, entitled “Un président devrait écouter ça” (“A president should listen to this”). Since his re-election, the former head of state has been omnipresent, all the better to castigate the alliance with the Insoumis and tell anyone who will listen that he still hasn’t given up his ambitions for the 2027 presidential election.
“His presence is normalizing”
After years of true-false retreat from political life, François Hollande has chosen to dive back into the 1st constituency of Corrèze thanks to the dissolution announced by Emmanuel Macron this summer. “He had the flair, as Hollande often did, to return to the hemicycle in this troubled context. He could have stayed in comfort, receiving guests on rue de Rivoli. But he took his chances and got back into the ring,” says his former minister and friend Patrick Kanner, head of the Socialist senators.
The return of a former head of state to the PS group went off without a hitch at the Assembly. “We prepared him a little on a formal level, because he has his bodyguards, so it takes some getting used to, but it’s going well. He takes part in meetings, gives his opinion. He’s part of the collective,” says Boris Vallaud, group chairman.
His comrades would almost paint him as a… normal MP. “It’s not insignificant to have a former president. At first, he spoke with a very special status. But as the weeks go by, his presence becomes more normalized, and it’s no longer an event…” remarks Laurent Baumel, PS deputy for the Paris region.Indre-et-Loire and former frondeur. “It’s an opinion that counts among others, but it’s not preponderant,” confirms Arthur Delaporte, an elected official from Calvados.
“He’s virtually transparent in the hemicycle”.
At the end of October, MP Hollande’s activity is pinpointed by Le Figaro, with a single vote in the chamber (the motion of censure against Michel Barnier), compared with several dozen for his colleagues. “He didn’t realize that being a member of parliament had changed, that you could quickly be blasted on social networks,” remarks a PS MP. “Being present in the Assembly is more important today than in the days of absolute majorities, when votes were won or lost in advance…” confirms Arthur Delaporte. Eric Coquerelthe Insoumis chairman of the Finance Committee, sums up these first sessions in his own way:
” “Sometimes, all of a sudden, I realize he’s there. If he wasn’t a former president, he’d be an anonymous member of parliament. Today, he’s not a major player in the National Assembly. “
More present luring debates on the financing of Social Security last week, the Socialist elephant even broke his silence in the hemicycle. “First of all, I’d like to thank the speakers who requested my intervention…”, he saidironically, in response to the attacks ad hominem by elected members of the government coalition against pension reform (Touraine) voted under his mandate.
“He can’t help but get his hands dirty again”.
But it’s above all outside the Palais-Bourbon that the former president likes to make his voice heard. In the media, he likes to criticize the outrages of the Insoumis and pushes the Socialist Party to break away from LFI’s stranglehold, a strategy deemed essential if it is to win in 2027. “He wants the PS to take back the place it should never have left, that of leadership on the left, by opposing Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s brutalization,” he says. Patrick Kanner. In particular, the former president called for the organization of a SP Congress in the coming months, with the aim of toppling Olivier Faure, the First Secretary, and rebalancing the alliance towards Place publique and the social-democratic left. The Corrézien is also due to travel to Lyon this Saturday with the leaders of social democracy for the second edition of “Debout les socialistes”, the movement led by Hélène Geoffroy, an internal opponent of Olivier Faure.
“He can’t help getting his hands dirty again. It’s not up to the standard of a former president. He’s saturating the media calling for left-wing unity, ‘it’s necessary, it’s necessary, it’s necessary’… but is he contributing to it?” sighs a PS executive. On the other hand, Olivier Faure’s supporters praise the first secretary’s record: they credit him with doubling the number of deputys PS in the Assembly this summer and a first place on the left in the European elections (14%) around Raphaël Glucksmann.
“He still believes in 2027”
True to his line, François Hollande once again stirred up the left this week by asserting that the PS should “have a candidate for the presidential election”, brushing aside the idea of a “single left-wing” candidacy by targeting Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
For many, the former president is above all preparing favorable conditions to be able to enter the race in 2027. “He still believes in it and hasn’t closed the door. At least he has the merit of clarity,” sighs a Socialist MP. “He can’t represent the whole of the left, or maybe a bit of social democracy, but that’s no way to win,” grumbles Laurent Baumel. “He’s missing the point. The PS has moved on. Hollande is no longer an absolute moral figure in the party,” adds another elected official.
During his interviews, the interested party member always leaves the door open to a candidacy. “I’m not indifferent to 2027”, he told the quarterly “L’Hémicycle” at the end of October.. “He doesn’t shy away, which is normal if he feels he can still make a contribution. He’s the one of us who’s already had a winning campaign,” smiles his friend Patrick Kanner. If the conditions are right, he’ll consider his place. He could then go from being the one looking for the solution to being the solution.