Flep24 (French Legislative Elections Podcast 2024)

The left has passed a series of buzzy amendments over the past week, including 30 billion euros worth of new taxes on the rich, as well as a variety of initiatives that the New Popular Front campaigned on. Deputies on the right and the center aren’t even showing up to vote against the measures. So will France be getting a redistributive budget that taxes and spends (which the right calls confiscat...

Édouard Phillippe launched his presidential campaign back in September, but he’s been preparing the run for over 2 years. What’s his plan to win, and what’s his plan to do when he wins? “Structural” reforms, in short - even if they’re unpopular. Show Notes - «Je n’ai pas peur du match» : Édouard Philippe, le début d’une longue campagne vers la présidentielle 2027 | Le Figaro (fr) - «Conventions»,...

We recap the debate in the National Assembly on the National Rally’s attempt to roll back the retirement reform by looking why the left didn’t vote for it and what French conservatives are looking for in retirement policy. Plus, the Mexicanisation of the country continues, if you ask the Interior Ministry. Show Notes - En matière d’économie, le RN dit tout et son contraire | Mediapart (fr) - Abrog...

Will the Barnier government force the budget through without a vote? Borne says yes. And Gabriel Attal continues taking over Macron world. Plus - why did the RN vote against rolling back the retirement reform? Show Notes  - ⁠«Nous n’avons jamais fait preuve d’hypocrisie» : Jean-Philippe Tanguy justifie le vote du RN contre l’abrogation de la réforme des retraites⁠ - Le Figaro (fr) - ⁠Budget 2025 :...

The conservatives stalled, and questions were raised about where all the value added tax revenue is going. Plus, Olly gives a timely rundown on all the splits in the New Popular Front. The Socialist Party is up to their tricks again... Cover our newspaper expenses. How about you buy us one today? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://buymeacoffee.com/flep24⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Olly and Marlon are joined by Diane De Vignemont and Phineas Rueckert to discuss how the New Popular Front compares to the old one, and how the PCF went from a once mighty force to a party that busies itself with inventing new BBQ based forms of identity politics. Diane's work: https://www.humanite.fr/histoire/resistance/4-avril-1944-quand-le-parti-communiste-francais-entre-au-gouvernement https:/...

Olly and Marlon discuss how Macronomics ruined France's finances and disproved the Laffer curve once and for all, Barnier's son's do nothing job, the agony of the Macronists in the new arrangement and LFI's training school for revolutionary cadre. https://www.politico.eu/article/emmanuel-macron-france-economics-business-tax-increases-spending-cuts-budget-crisis/ https://www.blast-info.fr/articles/...

Olly and Marlon return to talk about Marlon's attendance at the Le Pen trial, Barnier's governmental speech, Macron's blues, Glucksmann's plans and more! https://www.politico.eu/article/emmanuel-macron-case-of-blues-new-pm-michel-barnier-france/ https://www.lefigaro.fr/politique/marion-marechal-au-figaro-j-ai-decide-de-lancer-un-mouvement-politique-20241007 Send us questions and suggestions for ou...

Olly and Marlon are joined by Nic Maclellan Correspondent for Islands Business, a monthly news and current affairs magazine published in Fiji to talk about New Caledonia, what it is, where it is and France's imperial crisis on the island. Nic's twitter: https://twitter.com/MaclellanNic Show notes: https://islandsbusiness.com/news-break/deaths-at-saint-louis-overshadow-anniversary-of-french-colonis...

*Content Warning* There is a lengthy discussion of a rape trial in this episode, so some listeners may find it upsetting and wish to avoid this one. Journalist Pauline Bock joins Olly to discuss all things media related in France. They talk about how Pauline's job at media critique site Arret Sur Images, the coverage of the Gilets Jaunes, the ongoing Mazan rape trial and the Bollorisation of t...

On the first day of the Barnier government, Assembly time is wrestled over, ministers fret about their place in the government, and the left wing of Macronism tries to fly away. Show Notes - Barnier 1, jour 1 : ça tourne - Politico (fr) - Dans le camp présidentiel, le goût amer du nouveau gouvernement ne passe pas - Mediapart (fr) More Context From Flap24 - Michel Barnier's cabinet of curiosit...

Olly runs through some of Barnier's choicest cabinet picks TLDR: It's a cabinet choc full of reactionary catholics, the policy in New Caledonia is likely to remain repressive, Macronism's left wing wakes up with a hangover and the NFP pursues censure. Send us questions and suggestions for our Friday interviews at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠flep24pod@gmail.com⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Cover our newsp...

There may be a brief break in episodes - Marlon's headed to the beach this weekend. Until then, we wait on Michel Barnier's government, which he says will be settled by Sunday. Show Notes - Le gouvernement sera présenté «avant dimanche», selon Matignon Listen to Some Old Interviews This Weekend From Flap24 We have a thread of all the ones we've done with summaries here - https://x.com/...

Olly and Marlon reflect on what we've learned over the last 100 days. Also more on the undemocratic austerity budget that is being forced through without scrutiny. - Impôts : la Banque de France plaide pour un «effort exceptionnel» de «certains gros contribuables» ou de «grosses entreprises» - Le Figaro (fr) - «Cette situation mérite mieux que des petites phrases» : Michel Barnier juge le cont...

Impeachment proceedings are barreling ahead, with the vote to get the LFI-led resolution out of the National Assembly’s political bureau winning. If the resolution gets to the Assembly floor, it’ll be the first time in the history of the Vth Republic that impeachment is voted on against a president. Michel Barnier’s government is starting to take shape - and he’s got the same economic adviser as G...

Impeachment proceedings have officially been opened against Emmanuel Macron - and it looks like they’ll pass the National Assembly’s political bureau next. After that, a debate in the commission on constitutional law. The Socialist Party says they’ll vote the resolution, backed by La France Insoumise, through the Assembly’s political bureau but that they don’t support the process, which is “doomed...

Thierry Solère, the man who organized dinners between the National Rally and Macron’s camp, is back in the news. He reportedly, and not unpredictably, was the guy who negotiated RN’s tacit agreement with Macron to put Michel Barnier in the driving seat as Prime Minister. And the Finance Commission president Éric Coquerel, and LFI deputy, still hasn’t received key documents from the Economy and Fin...

It looks like Michel Barnier's governing now - Macron's ministers are complaining that they can't even get a call with him or anybody close to him to approve their moves because...they don't have his phone number. On the left, François Ruffin gets booed at the Fête de « L’Humanité » as he openly goes on the warpath against Jean-Luc Mélenchon and the LFI's strategy of trying to...

Nathalie Oziol, La France Insoumise MP for Herault joins Olly and Marlon to talk about the budget, the strategy of LFI and her disagreements with Ruffin, as well as how she got into politics and a bit of Shakespeare. Nathalie's Twitter https://twitter.com/NathalieOziol Send us questions and suggestions for our Friday interviews at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠flep24pod@gmail.com⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Cover our newspaper...

Show Notes - ⁠«La France ne doit pas revenir en arrière» en augmentant les impôts, plaide Bruno Le Maire lors de son discours d’adieu⁠ - Le Figaro (fr) - ⁠Présidentielle 2027: Édouard Philippe reste le mieux placé contre Marine Le Pen⁠ Le Figaro (fr) More Context From Flap24 - ⁠Budget Blues and Michel Barnier's Ministry of Immigration⁠ (en) - ⁠Macron Hid The Deficit⁠ (en) Send us questions and...

Éric Ciotti says France should be governed from the right - and he thinks that Michel Barnier is just Macronism with another name. Plus, when will the next presidential election be? The question is on everybody's lips, and nobody's ruling out Macron resigning. Could it happen? Show Notes - «Je veux que la France soit gouvernée à droite», déclare Éric Ciotti - Le Figaro (fr) - Entre hypothè...

Olly takes a look at three stories today: Bardella is accused of faking documents to get off trial, Attal and Barnier lay out their terms of engagement and the supposed left wing of Macronism cries over how right wing the party they're in is. Finally Olly takes a quick look at Bompard's most recent blog about the LFI strategy, which they are calling the fourth bloc. Show notes: the fourth...

Apologies for the degraded audio - the regular audio processing made my voice sound too clipped, so I've opted for the unprocessed audio. I talked too quietly into the microphone today, sore throat. The finally, actually outgoing Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire was grilled today by the Finance Commission, who are taking the government to task for hiding just how big the deficit is. Le Marie an...

Michel Barnier's forming a new government as the National Assembly finally gets going again this coming Monday. Barnier's looking for ministers from the right, the left, and the current center. There are plenty of familiar faces forecast to come back—it doesn't seem like too much will change with this government. Meanwhile, France is fighting off a budget challenge from the European Un...

Olly and Marlon talk about the nomination of the new prime minister, the protests, left strategy and why some pundits are wrong. Then they talk a little bit about Alexis Kohler and the eurozone. Show notes. https://jacobin.com/2023/02/france-socialist-party-melenchon-nupes-hamon-left-change “Many of our fellow citizens think . . . [that a Socialist is] an aspiring minister . . . or a traitor-to-be...