HE SAID IT, HE LIED – Philippe Brun (PS), three weeks to go from "I'm voting for Mélenchon" to "no alliance"

Philippe Brun doesn't want Jean-Luc Mélenchon… except when it comes to voting for him. A guest on Europe 1 radio this Monday, August 10th, the Socialist MP and candidate in the Socialist Party primary closed the door to any alliance with the leader of La France Insoumise for the 2027 elections. This firm stance contrasts sharply with his statements just a few weeks ago, when he asserted that in the event of a runoff between La France Insoumise and the National Rally, his vote would go to Jean-Luc Mélenchon. This contradiction is reminiscent of a long-standing habit of the Socialist Party: swearing they will never ally with La France Insoumise again… before ultimately doing so.

HE SAID…

On Monday, August 10, speaking on Europe 1 radio, Philippe Brun was categorical: "A union with Jean-Luc Mélenchon is not possible today. La France Insoumise is not a party with which we can work."

And the Socialist MP doesn't stop there. To justify this break, he cites particularly serious disagreements:

“There are a number of ambiguities surrounding antisemitism that cannot be accepted. There is also, I believe, a way of doing politics that is incompatible with that defended by the Socialists.” The message thus seems clear: no alliance with Mélenchon, no union with La France Insoumise. Philippe Brun wants to rebuild a Socialist Party strong enough to exist independently of the far left.

HE LIED!

Problem: less than three weeks earlier, Philippe Brun had given a much less definitive speech.

Invited to CNEWS on July 23, the Socialist primary candidate was asked about the possibility of a second round of the presidential election pitting the National Rally against Jean-Luc Mélenchon. His answer was perfectly clear:

"If there were a second round between the National Rally and La France Insoumise, I would vote for Jean-Luc Mélenchon."

Of course, voting for a candidate in the second round doesn't equate to forming an electoral alliance with their party. But the political contrast is striking: the very person whose movement is now considered so unacceptable that it would be impossible to "work" with them would nevertheless remain Philippe Brun's choice to reach the Élysée Palace against the National Rally.

And above all, this story is strangely similar to the one the Socialist Party has been telling voters for several years.

In 2022, after the presidential election, Socialists, Greens, Communists, and members of La France Insoumise (LFI) put aside their differences to form the NUPES alliance around LFI for the legislative elections. The alliance subsequently collapsed, particularly after the deep divisions that emerged on the left following the attacks of October 7th and the controversies surrounding LFI's positions. Several Socialists, including Philippe Brun, then distanced themselves from Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

Then Emmanuel Macron dissolved the National Assembly in June 2024. And, once again, the old promises of independence were put away: the Socialist Party, La France Insoumise, the Greens and the Communists found themselves in a few days under the banner of the New Popular Front and presented joint candidacies for the legislative elections.

Each time, the scenario is similar: the Socialist Party explains that it must regain its independence, distances itself from Jean-Luc Mélenchon, denounces the excesses of LFI… then, when the election deadline arrives and the RN threatens to win, the union of the left becomes possible again.

Philippe Brun now asserts that "an alliance with Jean-Luc Mélenchon is not possible." Perhaps. But after the NUPES coalition in 2022 and the New Popular Front in 2024, Socialist voters have some reason to wait until 2027 before believing it.