Legislative 2022. Justice validates on appeal the agreement between the PS and the Nupes

Justice validated this Friday on appeal the agreement concluded between the PS and the new alliance of the left (Nupes), reversing the decision of the judge in chambers of Créteil. The latter had judged that the PS had not respected the statutes of the party to conclude this agreement.

Seized by four members, the judge in chambers had considered that the agreement of the New Popular Ecological and Social Union (Nupes), concluded by the PS on May 6 with LFI, EELV and the PCF, should have “been the subject of “a national convention”, and had ordered the PS to organize one within thirty days. He forbade him in this expectation to “take advantage of the Nupes agreement”.

No agreement needed

After this decision, which fell on Tuesday evening, the PS appealed, went into emergency procedure on Thursday. In the decision rendered on Friday afternoon, the Court of Appeal ruled that “the manifest violation of the statutes is not established”, nor “the manifestly illicit disturbance”, and “reverses” the order of the judge in chambers.

“The consultation of the federations and the ratification by a national convention do not constitute a condition of validity of the agreement in question”, considers the court. It also noted that, “in the case of legislative elections, the level of designation is either the national convention or the national office”.

“It’s good news that things are clarified”, welcomed the number 2 of the PS Corinne Narassiguin, regretting that the procedure brought had “thrown trouble on the Nupes agreement”, a few days before the legislative elections of the June 12 and 19.

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The objective of the applicants was “well to delegitimize the agreement and to protect the dissident candidates” opposed to the union with LFI and the other parties for the legislative elections, she underlined. “But the agreement is fully legitimate and it puts an end to unnecessary controversy,” added Ms. Narassiguin.

“The court recognized what was obvious to us: the Socialist Party respected its statutes and the Nupes agreement is valid in the eyes of the courts,” confirmed Me Cosima Ouhioun, PS lawyer.

Avoid exclusions

The party leadership had notably argued in the first instance that it was difficult to set up a national convention to validate the agreement, so shortly before the legislative elections, because of the time needed to vote beforehand in the sections, then the federations, to designate the delegates of the national convention. Similarly, if the Court of Appeal had confirmed the judgment of first instance, this agreement could not have taken place until after the legislative elections.

For the applicants, it was a question of being able to have the strategy of the management validated by the militants. But the management recalls that there is anyway a PS Congress planned for the end of the year.

The applicants, four members who are not candidates for the legislative elections and who have no responsibilities in the bodies of the PS, had also asked for a ban on taking advantage of the Nupes to prevent the exclusion of members of the PS presenting themselves outside Nupes nomination. About 60 people are in this situation.

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