On the French left, everyone is against Glucksmann when it comes to Ukraine and Gaza

Paris. On Wednesday evening, LCI broadcast the first televised debate between the five candidates in the French Social Democratic Party’s primaries, from which the moderate left’s candidate for the 2027 presidential election will emerge (the first round will be held over the weekend of 9–10 October, and the second round the following weekend). A three-and-a-half-hour debate during which Raphaël Gluckmann, leader of Place Publique (PP), Olivier Faure, First Secretary of the Socialist Party (PS), Ségolène Royal, a former presidential candidate, Jérôme Guedj, a PS MP, and Emmanuel Maurel, President of the Gauche républicaine et socialiste, demonstrated substantial agreement on social and economic issues, but not on foreign policy – from the conflict in Ukraine to Gaza – where deep divisions emerged.

Ségolène Royal, who in September 2022 accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of “war propaganda based on fear”, casting doubt on the documented war crimes in Ukraine (such as the attack on the maternity ward in Mariupol), confirmed on Wednesday her ambiguous stance towards Vladimir Putin’s Russia. When asked by a student at the Sorbonne about support for Kyiv, the former Socialist Party candidate in the 2007 presidential election replied: “We must help Ukraine achieve a just and lasting peace. Some tell us that this is impossible, that we do not even have the right to speak of peace, otherwise we are branded as ‘Putin worshippers’”. For Royal, the war “could have been avoided” and France should invest in “negotiation” and “mediation”. But Putin “has no intention whatsoever of negotiating”, Glucksmann retorted firmly, emphasising the need to “help the Ukrainians because they are our first line of defence”, as Putin’s war “is not a war against Ukraine, but against Europe”. Faure, Guedj and Maurel aligned themselves with the PP leader’s position, challenging the notion that Moscow is genuinely seeking negotiations; Putin thinks only in terms of the balance of power, and we must not be naive. At one point, Royal attempted to break out of her isolation by launching a direct attack on Glucksmann, whom she had described as an ‘intern’ on the eve of the debate: ‘You once said we had to march all the way to Moscow!’ ‘I think you’ve confused me with Napoleon,’ replied the MEP, prompting laughter from the audience.

On the issue of Gaza, it was everyone against Glucksmann, the favourite in the October primaries. “We must show the same resolve for Ukraine as for Palestine,” stated Faure, quoting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and explicitly using the term “genocide” to describe the situation in Gaza, aware that this might create a rift with the PP’s frontman, who, by contrast, refuses to use this term. “Saying ‘genocide’ carries a certain weight. We need that weight to put an end to this intolerable massacre,” declared the PS’s first secretary, followed by Royal: “Words are important; we must recognise the genocide.” Glucksmann, in response, emphasised the distinction between condemning the actions of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and the legal classification of the crimes committed, preferring to speak of “crimes against humanity” and “war crimes”. The debate was further fuelled by an appeal from Royal to French Jews to denounce “Benjamin Netanyahu’s actions” in the Gaza Strip, because “what is happening is absolutely intolerable”. “It is not up to Jews to denounce Netanyahu, but to democrats,” Glucksmann retorted, adding that “we must be careful with the words we use” in light of the “explosive” context linked to the rise in anti-Semitism in France, particularly since the attack on 7 October 2023.

In conclusion, the thorny issue of an alliance with La France insoumise was addressed; this was categorically ruled out by Glucksmann and Guedj due to the ambiguity of Jean-Luc Mélenchon and his supporters regarding anti-Semitism, but not by the other three candidates, who are calling for a ‘rassemblement’ of the left, including the radical left.