The left presents the communist André Chassaigne as a candidate for the presidency of the National Assembly

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France’s left-wing New Popular Front bloc has reached an agreement to present communist André Chassaigne as its unity candidate for the presidency of the National Assembly in the next legislative session, which starts on Thursday after elections earlier this month.

Chassaigne, a member of parliament for the fifth district of the Puy-de-Dome constituency, has confirmed that the parties of the New Popular Front have chosen him as a candidate, possibly due to his “seniority”, his “knowledge of the institution” and his “concern to guarantee a faithful presidency” to those who appointed him, according to BFMTV.

“We believe that we are capable of winning. We will not delay, my candidacy will remain until the end,” Chassaigne told the media, stressing that the New Popular Front was the winning bloc in the elections and therefore has “collective legitimacy” to preside over the National Assembly.

The National Assembly will hold a vote on Thursday to elect the next speaker of the lower house. The candidates, in addition to Chassaigne, are the Macronist Yaël Braun-Pivet, the last leader of the House; the National Rally candidate, Sébastien Chenu; the centrist Charles de Courson; and Naïma Moutchou, of the Horizontes party.

The Socialist Party, La France Insoumise, the Communist Party and the Greens – the main members of the New Popular Front – have thus reached an agreement to present a candidate for the presidency of the Lower House. However, negotiations to appoint a candidate for prime minister remain at a standstill.

Following the news, the secretary of the French Communist Party, Fabien Roussel, said he was “proud” of Chassaigne and praised his “seriousness, responsibility and commitment.” “He embodies the values ​​of the republic better than anyone else,” he said on his official profile on the social network X.

For her part, the leader of the La France Insoumise faction, Mathilde Penot, said she was “delighted” with Chassaigne’s candidacy and reiterated that her party has “always” advocated a solution and understanding between the forces of the bloc.

“Now, let’s put all our strength into thwarting (French President Emmanuel) Macron’s coup,” Penot told reporters. La France Insoumise has withdrawn two candidacies for the presidency of the National Assembly to facilitate Chassaigne’s appointment.

The president of the Socialist group in the National Assembly, Boris Vallaud, also expressed his satisfaction with the candidacy of a deputy whom he described as a “great parliamentarian and a great democrat.”