France has achieved curbing the far right. The New Popular Front has turned the polls upside down and has won the largest number of deputies, with 182 seats. The Macronist bloc follows in second place, with 168 legislators; and the far-right National Rally, which won in the first round, has been relegated to third place, with its allies winning 143 seats.

The New Popular Front It is an alliance formed by the Socialist Party (PS), the environmentalist EELV, La France Insoumise (LFI) and the Communist Party (PCF), which emerged with the aim of halting the advance of the far right in France. A goal that they finally seem to have achieved.

Now, the panorama that is drawn is uncertain, with a National Assembly without absolute majority and divided into three widely separated and apparently irreconcilable blocks. For the moment, the leader of the New Popular Front, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, has asked President Emmanuel Macron to entrust them with forming a government.

This French left-wing alliance includes in its political programme a list of 150 measures focused on social economic policies that it plans to implement in several stages. Specifically, last June they presented a plan that divides the proposals between those that will be implemented in the first 15 days of the mandate, others that will be carried out within a period of 100 days, and others that will be implemented over the following months.

The main objective of these promises is to cause a “breakup” with the last liberal and conservative governments.

First measures that they are committed to approving

Among the first measures that it is committed to approving is the ddisbursement of the controversial pension reformimplemented by the Government in September last year and which provides for the gradual delay of the retirement age to 64 years, as well as the increase to 43 years of contributions in order to be eligible for a full pension.

The left-wing parties have also pledged to increase the minimum wage. up to 1,600 euros netincrease the number of civil servants by 10% and increase the salaries of interns. They also propose to freeze the prices of basic necessities, including energy and fuel.

The New Popular Front also aspires to increase housing assistance and support the construction of social housing; defend public health and advance the project towards “totally free school education”, including materials, transport, extracurricular activities and canteen service; and reform the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

On the other hand, of facing the first 100 days of mandateThe New Popular Front is committed to re-establishing the wealth tax, reforming the inheritance tax and imposing “a tax per kilometre on imported products”. They also support aligning salaries with the CPI in line with inflation, and advocating for renewable energies in order to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

Long-term proposals

Among their long-term proposals, the progressive parties are committed to increasing hiring in the health and education systems, reaching 200,000 new social housing units per year and promoting a pension reform that willreduce the retirement age to 60.

In order to promote equality, it proposes equalizing salaries and approving menstrual leave in companies and public administration. Social Security will also cover feminine hygiene products and companies that do not comply with the controls may be sanctioned.

Another of the long-term objectives of the New Popular Front is to reduce the working week to 35 hours and reduce it by another three hours for those jobs that are considered to be more difficult or that are carried out at night. Physical and mental exhaustion resulting from the workload may be considered an occupational disease.

The left also proposes taking full control of the water supply service, It also establishes free consumption for the first cubic metres and a progressive price depending on consumption. In addition, it is proposed to reject the free trade agreement between the EU and Canada, as well as the Mercosur agreement.

For farmers, the New Popular Front proposes ban food imports that do not meet social and environmental standards.

Proposals in the international arena

At the international level, the grouping of left-wing parties is betting on a “unwavering” defense of national sovereignty and territorial freedom of the Ukrainian people, as well as the full defence of its internationally recognised borders through the “supply of necessary weapons”.

Regarding the other major international conflict of today, such as the conflict between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) In the Gaza Strip, the New Popular Front has reiterated its commitment to the release of hostages kidnapped by the Palestinian militia since the beginning of October.

Although the left-wing parties strongly reject Hamas’s “theocratic project”, they also advocate the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, as well as the “immediate” recognition of the State of Palestine without this being detrimental to the State of Israel.

About the policies towards the European Unionleft-wing parties are calling for an end to free trade agreements and reforming the CAP, while at the same time defending the need to “tax the richest at European level in order to increase the EU’s own budgetary resources”.

On the other hand, they have reiterated their strong rejection of any display of racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism or Islamophobia.

Media

The left-wing coalition has proposed a series of policies “sustainable and with visible financing” for public media, for which it also advocates defending “the independence of editorial offices from their owners.”

He also advocates a “strict” limitation of the concentration of cultural and media companies in the hands of “a few” owners, and advocates eliminating public aid to “media outlets convicted of inciting hatred or violating people’s dignity.”