As the rain fell in the central French city of Blois on Friday, August 29, a procession of umbrellas hurried up the slopes towards the royal city's Halle aux Grains. The venue was hosting the annual summer conference of the Socialist party, which concluded on Saturday. Due to Prime Minister François Bayrou's decision to stake his political future on a confidence vote for his government on September 8, the Socialist event attracted an unprecedented amount of attention, both from media and on the political scene. The Socialists, along with the Greens, the Communists, radical left La France Insoumise (LFI) and the far-right Rassemblement National, have pledged to vote against the Bayrou government.
In Blois, the Socialists openly stood by their intention to play a role in bringing down the government in the confidence vote, which will be held two days before the "Block Everything" protest movement, which they only tepidly support. The party is betting on a different outcome, the same as the summer 2024 legislative elections, when the Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP) left-wing alliance took the largest share of seats in Parliament. The Socialists once again declared themselves "ready to govern" with the rest of the left. "It's up to the left to lead a government and a platform and to work on it with Parliament, where there will be amendments," said Carole Delga, Socialist president of the southern Occitanie region. "The current paralysis cannot continue."
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