Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, candidate for the post of First Secretary of the PS against Olivier Faure, was opposed by the outgoing First Secretary for his request for a new debate before the final vote of the members on Thursday.
The orientation text of Mayer-Rossignol, rather critical of the alliance of the PS with the Nupes, came in second position (30.51%) Thursday during a first vote of the members on the political line of the party, behind that of Olivier Faure (49.15%), who defends the agreement concluded in May with LFI, EELV and the PCF.
A second vote, next Thursday, must decide between the two men, this time to designate the First Secretary of the PS, before a Congress of the party at the end of January.
Read alsoNicolas Mayer-Rossignol: “Change in the Socialist Party is possible”
“
I hope that a new debate can be organized
,” wrote the mayor of Rouen on Sunday in a letter to the outgoing First Secretary.
“
In this spirit, I have already accepted the proposal of a television channel to organize such a debate ahead of the ballot
” next Thursday, continued the Norman elected official, without specifying the name of the media.
Mayer-Rossignol explained that he "
strongly
" hopes that Olivier Faure will agree to debate, "
so that our discussions take place in front of as many people as possible and as thoroughly as possible, with clarity, respect for people and sensibilities
" .
.
The answer arrived on Sunday evening, through Pierre Jouvet, spokesperson for the PS and close to Olivier Faure, who underlined, in a message to the press, that the outgoing First Secretary was "
not looking for a national notoriety unlike our adversary
".
Jouvet remarks that on January 6, the candidates already confronted their points of view "
during a debate organized by France Télévisions which lasted more than 3 hours
", and that "
nearly 600 debates
" were also held in sections and federations in recent weeks.
“
This congress is a militant moment.
Our priority is therefore to speak to the socialists whom the First Secretary has planned to meet during many trips in the coming days
, "he continues, recalling that Olivier Faure will also be"
fully mobilized
"against the pension reform, in particular during a meeting of the Nupes on Tuesday evening.
Read alsoOlivier Faure facing the challenge of a PS divided on Nupes
And he tackles: "
activists would be interested to know if Nicolas has debated with Mayer-Rossignol to decide the line he intends to defend
".
“
Is he for the union of the left, he asks, in which case this line is already embodied nationally OR has he chosen to put himself in the hands of the Dutch, signing the withdrawal and the step back of the PS as the agreement made suggests
” with the candidate who came in third position, the mayor of Vaulx-en-Velin, Hélène Geoffroy, who obtained 20.34% of the votes.
The latter, which has the support of PS elephants, called on members to choose Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol next week.