Unitary Left
Political party in France
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Unitary Left[4] (Gauche unitaire, GU) was a French political party, founded in 2009,[1] that was integrated into the French Communist Party (PCF) in 2015.[2] The party was led by Christian Picquet, a former member of the Revolutionary Communist League and former leader of the association Unite.[1]
Unitary Left Gauche unitaire | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Christian Picquet |
| Founded | 14 March 2009 [1] |
| Dissolved | 8 September 2015 [2] |
| Merged into | French Communist Party |
| Ideology | Anti-capitalism[3] Socialism[3] Democratic socialism |
| Political position | Left-wing to far-left |
| National affiliation | Left Front (2009–2014) |
| European affiliation | Party of the European Left |
| Colours | Red |
| Website | |
| www | |
Constitution of France Parliament; government; president | |
The creation of the party was announced on 8 March 2009 at the founding congress of the Left Front electoral coalition ahead of the 2009 European elections. Picquet, whose opposition faction represented 3.7% at the founding congress of the New Anticapitalist Party, disagreed with the majority's refusal to ally with the Communist-led Left Front for the European elections.[1][5]
Other members from the same current remained in the New Anticapitalist Party, and formed the internal faction Convergences and Alternative on 17 May 2009.[6]
Picquet's small movement integrated the Left Front and Picquet was the third candidate on the coalition's list in the Île-de-France constituency.[citation needed]
Ideologically, the party sought to unite all democratic socialists opposed to neo-liberalism under a common front.
In the 2010 French regional elections, the GU, as part of the Left Front, had seven officials elected into office:[7]
- Maïté Ballais (Auvergne)
- Armand Creus (Rhône-Alpes)
- Michelle Ernis (Upper Normandy)
- Jacques Lerichomme (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur)
- Céline Malaisé (Île-de-France)
- Christian Picquet (Midi-Pyrénées)
- Nicole Taquet-Leroy (Nord-Pas-de-Calais)
On 29 April 2014, the GU left the Left Front, arguing the party was underrepresented as a founding member of the coalition and that the Front lacked a clear strategy or message.[8]
On 8 September 2015, the PCF and GU released a joint statement on the dissolution of the GU and its merger with the PCF. This decision was taken to limit the division of the French left.[2][9]
Two days later, Pierre Laurent, then National Secretary of the PCF, confirmed in a press conference that GU's members would participate fully within the PCF's party structure. Four GU leaders were given permanent seats on the PCF National Council, and Picquet was given a seat on the PCF National Executive Committee.[10]
