The "Hard Left" to play a big role in France's parliamentary elections

from the Independent UK:



President François Hollande may be forced to make policy concessions to France's virulently anti-austerity hard left after parliamentary elections tomorrow and next Sunday.

One of the final opinion polls before the first round of the elections showed a slight fall in support for Mr Hollande's Parti Socialiste. The Ipsos poll published yesterday suggested that Mr Hollande and his prime minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, might have to rely on Green, Communist and other hard-left votes to push their programme though the new National Assembly.

Supporters of Jean-Luc Mélenchon's Front de Gauche can be expected to back large parts of Mr Hollande's programme but will stoutly resist the spending cuts needed if France is to reduce its deficit, as promised, to 3 per cent of GDP next year. Communist and other hard-left members are also expected to call for a larger rise in the minimum wage than the modest increase promised by Mr Hollande during his successful run for the presidency this spring.

Another poll by Opinionway suggested that Socialists and Greens might have a large enough moderate-left majority to rule without the harder left after the second round next Sunday. Mr Hollande will certainly hope so. One of his closest aides has described the prospect of a hard-left pivotal vote in the new parliament as "our worst nightmare". ............................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/hollande-braced-for-worst-nightmare-in-elections-7831808.html