Special envoy to Marseilles
In the underground alleys of the Palais du Pharo (7th arrondissement of Marseille), Olivier Faure draws on his electronic cigarette.
Between two clouds of smoke, he explains:
“We continue to discuss.
We don't stop”
.
While the 80th congress of the PS, scheduled to last until Sunday, has just opened in Marseille, the first secretary looks more serene than he has shown in recent days.
Officially re-elected as head of the party last Sunday, with less than 400 votes in advance, he notes that his finalist opponent Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, and the members of his collective "Refondations", have stopped claiming victory, even if they always denounce fraud during the ballot.
“They take it down a notch.
They no longer say that we must recount the votes, or that we must vote again
,” notes a pro-Faure socialist.
“Among the socialists, there is always a guy who brings his strawberry at the last minute”
In reality, “NMR” is now also looking for
“an exit from above”,
after the tone has risen very strongly in recent days, offering a spectacle of consternation, bordering on ridicule.
“Marseille can be the worst thing, the coup de force, the last nail in the coffin, or the best if we manage to get together”
, assured Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol on his arrival at the Pharo, Friday at the beginning of the afternoon. noon.
The representatives of the two camps were therefore to continue the informal discussions throughout the evening, and probably part of the night.
Many nevertheless refuse to advance too quickly on the way out of the crisis.
“Among the Socialists, there is always a guy who brings his strawberry back at the last minute to say that it is not suitable
,” mocks a manager.
Currently on the table: the idea of a
"collective leadership"
with Olivier Faure as first secretary and key positions for his opponents.
The rest remains confidential and animates the debates.
"We must come out of this congress with a situation where everyone can find their place
," said Parisian elected official Lamia El Aaraje, support for Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol from the start.
“There are small steps”
, she assures, wishing an agreement
“by Friday evening”
.
"Discussions are more peaceful
," confirms Johanna Rolland, the mayor of Nantes, to whom Olivier Faure has promised the position of number two in the PS.
“Like us,
“
Refondations
”
does not wish to leave Nupes.
A space of coherence can therefore be built between us if everyone puts a little good will into
it, ”she believes, serenely.
“I do not perceive insurmountable differences”
, also notes Mathieu Klein, the mayor of Nancy and support of Olivier Faure.
Among the Socialists, we therefore temper the idea of an internal war which would explode this weekend in the second city of France.
Some optimists even claim that the rose party could profit from this conflict.
An elected PS underlines:
“There are many voters on the left who wonder how the PS will get out of it.
Which proves that the French are still counting on the Socialist Party for the future!
.
A way of looking at things.