Flep24 (French Legislative Elections Podcast 2024)

We go deep on Marine Le Pen’s conviction, and discuss the byzantine byways of the French legal system in this crossover episode with Liam & Patrick from the Royal Palace Podcast. We get into the case against Le Pen, her party, and her eurodeputies, who were convicted on charges of embezzlement. We also get into the legality of her ineligibility penalty, and just how the French appeals process...

France and Algeria’s diplomatic falling out continues, with many of the developments fueled by domestic political agendas. François Bayrou rang the alarm on France’s budget deficit which means one thing is coming: cuts. And we take a look at an editorial by Marianne’s new editor, as well as some of the behind-the-scenes political developments in the French press. Show Notes Quand l'Azerbaïdjan...

Olly and Marlon hop on the mic for a quick one breaking down the Le Pen conviction and the reactions to it. Cover our newspaper expenses: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://buymeacoffee.com/flep24⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Fund our deep dives: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/flep24⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Want your book, magazine, or website advertised at the beginning...

Olly and Marlon get on the mic to discuss far right politicians taking the mickey with expenses, the government trying to restrict Muslim women's ability to wear the veil even further, the internal politics of the socialist party and a potential future referendum. https://www.liberation.fr/politique/voile-dans-le-sport-bayrou-recadre-les-ministres-opposes-a-linterdiction-20250318_LILTWSZZZVEYD...

European rearmament is back on the table after the United States moves away from the continent with Donald Trump as president. Marlon & Olly discuss how various forces in French politics are responding to the call for a new European military order, as well as how the government is justifying its refusal to negotiate on the retirement age by pointing to a need for more military spending. Show N...

Marlon and Olly are joined once again by La France Insoumise MP Nathalie Oziol to discuss the strategy that the party is putting into motion for the municipal elections in 2026. They talk about rebuilding red bases, which cities LFI will target, what an LFI city will look like and there's a bit of discussion at the end about the tidal wave of violent threats that the party gets. Nathalie's...

Olly and Marlon hop on the mic to discuss Ruffin, Retaillau and Villepin itching to run for president, LFI reaching out to the Greens, Manuel Valls' frosty welcome in New Caledonia and the drumbeat of political violence targeted against the left and Muslims. Show notes: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/pacific/542779/manuel-valls-in-new-caledonia-war-of-words-and-clashes-over-independence-talks http...

Revelations into the Bétharram affair continue to pile up, with reporting about a possible intervention by French Prime Minister François Bayrou into the case, as well as ministerial level abandonment of holding private Catholic schools to account. Plus, is Chirac’s former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin about to jump into the 2027 presidential race? All this and more on today’s episode of Fl...

Olly and Marlon are joined by the Marxist academic and activist Stathis Kouvelakis for an in depth discussion on how the far right rose to prominence in France, the aftershocks of the 2005 EU constitutional referendum, race, class and the strategy of the left and why LFI is better than Syriza. Stathis is on the editorial board of the communist review Contretemps, trains LFI cadres in Marxism at In...

The Socialist Party has broken the New Popular Front alliance, Jean-Luc Mélenchon said at a political meeting in Paris this evening. Show Notes Notre-Dame-de-Bétharram : un établissement hors de tout contrôle | Mediapart (fr) Affaire Bétharram : le malaise grandit dans le camp présidentiel | Mediapart (fr) More Context From Flep24/7 A Confident Government, a Shaken Bayrou, and Answered Questions |...

Reporting from Mediapart about French Prime Minister François Bayrou’s knowledge of allegations of sexual assault at a private Catholic school in his backyard continue to pile up, as well as calls in the National Assembly for Bayrou to account for lying about that knowledge. In the meantime, a no-confidence vote failed against the government over its passage of the social security financing bill....

François Bayrou is confronted on the floor of the National Assembly over allegations that he didn’t protect students who were abused, physically and sexually, for decades at the private Catholic school where his wife taught. Bayrou denies any knowledge of the allegations, and says he’s be suing Mediapart, who reported on the case last week. And Gérald Darmanin, the hard-line Justice Minister, want...

Nicolas Sarkozy is filmed jogging with an ankle bracelet, there’s controversy on the far-right over scores being settled from 2022, and an RN mayor’s headed for trial over alleged corruption (which he denies). Show Notes IA plus qu’à | Politico Playbook (fr) Les images du premier jogging de Nicolas Sarkozy sous bracelet électronique | Tweet, BFMTV (fr) Nicolas Sarkozy, February 8th | Nicolas Sarko...

There’s a debate on in France today about birthright citizenship, and politicians all across the right, the center-right, the republican right, the right of the center-right and the right of the left of the center agree that something needs to change, and that debates on birthright citizenship should not be taboo. Outside of that, Flep24/7 takes a look at Macron’s plans for artificial intelligence...

Flep24/7 was out this week with the champagne left, eating caviar, and getting some insights into LFI. You’ll hear about it here, as well as Sunday’s municipal election with Louis Boyard. All that and more—and plenty more episodes to come in 2025 from Flep24/7. More Context From Flep24/7 Bourgeois Bloc Blues w/ Bruno Amable | (en) Cover our newspaper expenses: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

In a stunning return to form the PS has decided to abandon its previous promises and become the crutch for the Macronist Bayrou government. Eric Zemmour is getting ready to go to Washington and Mélenchon is seeking his 500 signatures to run for president. Cover our newspaper expenses: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://buymeacoffee.com/flep24⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Flep24 is back with a new name—Flep24/7—after a long winter break marked by illness and despair…but French political news never stops. The patriarch of the National Rally is dead, it’s the 10th anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo attacks, and the Socialist Party looks like it’s going to betray the left wing alliance. We talk about Jean-Marie Le Pen’s assiduously documented history of torture, debates...

Olly and Marlon hop back on the mic to discuss Le Monde's stunning revelation that Macron is actually quite racist, a fact that a cursory listen to FLEP would have revealed to you. We also talk about the devastation in Mayotte and the break-in at Mélenchon's house. Cover our newspaper expenses: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://buymeacoffee.com/flep24⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

France’s new Prime Minister is François Bayrou, a wiley operator who was a recidivist candidate for president until hitching his wagon closely to Emmanuel Macron in 2017. Since then he’s dreamed of the most powerful positions in the state, and now he has one of them. Some parties on the left like the Communists, Socialists, and Greens are eschewing the anti-agreementism of more radical La France I...

Olly and Marlon hop on to chat about the state of the negotiations for the new prime minister (they are not going very well) and LFI's plan to impeach Von Der Lyen over Mercosur. Olly said that LFI's presidency of the group in the EU was new - *it's not* they have co-chaired the group with Die Linke since 2019, so their plan to rebuild the group may still be in the offing. Marlon's NYT piece https...

Olly and Marlon discuss the last 24 hours in French politics. We have long been bearish on the survival chances of the NFP and it looks like the breakup has finally happened and Faure has broken ranks with the rest of the Front. We also talk briefly about Mercosur and announce the donkey of the day. Marlon's NYT piece https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/05/opinion/france-marine-le-pen.html Olly's Jaco...

The government has fallen, and Michel Barnier is out. What comes next? Some people say presidential elections. Others say a rotating cast of soon to be defeated prime ministers, or government by decree. Marlon goes over the scene where Barnier knew he was done, as well as the plans by France’s political forces to capitalize on the moment. The goal? Winning in 2027 - or whenever the next election i...

Barnier tried to pass his budget via article 49.3 and is now facing a motion of no confidence which he will lose. Show notes Olly's New Statesman piece: https://www.newstatesman.com/world/europe/2024/12/macron-no-confidence-french-government-about-to-collapse https://www.liberation.fr/economie/budget-censure-les-acteurs-economiques-sont-inquiets-et-cest-inquietant-20241202_FRQU55FASRFCLHMCQK6WZZFP...

Olly and Marlon talk about the hysteria in France over Israeli football hooligans getting beaten up in Amsterdam, reactions to the American election in France and some news about Le Pen + Olly talks about his brief encounter with Francois Hollande. Show Notes for November 14th, 2024 - Israeli soccer fans were attacked in Amsterdam. The violence was condemned as antisemitic | Associated Press (en)...

With the backdrop of the American presidential election today, France’s parties are all making moves with an eye on the 2027 presidential election. Gabriel Attal is rallying the Macron wing as he takes control of the party, and the plucky Socialists want to eject what they see as the radical Mélenchon wing from the left. The goal? Winning in 2027. Show Notes - ⁠Rester groupir⁠ | Politico Playbook...