Fabien Roussel

Mediapart questions the reality of work performed by Roussel as parliamentary assistant to MP Jean-Jacques Candelier between 2009 and 2014. On 11 March 2022, the National Financial Prosecutor's Office opens a preliminary investigation into embezzlement of public funds; Roussel is interviewed voluntarily. In 2023, Mediapart reports that investigators are also examining the possibility of a broader system involving Communist Party jobs.

Attribution

Directly implicated

Fabien Roussel makes a sexual joke about Marine Tondelier's pregnancy, referring to a 'sperm donation'. Tondelier denounces the remark and Roussel apologises. More than 300 female PCF members and activists subsequently send him a sharply critical letter, considering that he undermines the party's feminist message.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

The PCF opts for an independent candidacy for 2027 and its members select Fabien Roussel with approximately 72% of votes cast in the September consultation. The decision is contested by advocates of a joint left-wing candidate and perpetuates the strategic disagreement with proponents of a unified primary.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Faced with soaring fuel prices, Fabien Roussel proposes nationalising TotalEnergies if the group refuses to cut its margins. He links the proposal to capping prices at the pump and restoring public control over energy, then reiterates in late May that the company should become state-owned if it does not reduce its margins.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Fabien Roussel calls on French people to mobilise at roundabouts, outside prefectures and at other centres of power unless the government acts swiftly on energy prices. He notably demands a substantial reduction in fuel taxes and action concerning TotalEnergies and Rubis.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

After 7 October, Roussel rejects what he sees as ambiguities in LFI's position on Hamas, insists that it be described as a terrorist organisation and makes the PCF's participation in several demonstrations conditional on this wording and calls for the release of hostages. Some Communist activists later consider his position too cautious concerning Palestine.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Fabien Roussel is defeated in the first round in the Nord department's 20th constituency by RN candidate Guillaume Florquin, elected with 50.3% against 31.19% for the PCF National Secretary. The outcome represents a shock to Roussel's strategy of winning back working-class voters and to a historic Communist stronghold in northern France.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

At the PCF congress, Roussel declares NUPES 'outdated' and advocates a broader realignment of the left that could include dialogue with figures hostile to LFI. LFI and several left-wing partners see this as a break with their strategy of unity.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

The summer 2023 riots deepen the division between Roussel and LFI over public order, policing and the characterisation of racism. Roussel defends a more republican, law-and-order position and speaks of 'two lefts' opposed on several issues.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

Protesting against rising prices, Roussel calls for people to 'occupy' prefectures, petrol stations and supermarkets. The wording provokes criticism even within his own camp; Élisabeth Borne warns that words can be taken literally.

State of the evidence

Documented

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Personally implicated

During the presidential campaign, Roussel defends the right to 'good meat', 'good wine' and 'good cheese', a phrase that becomes emblematic of his strategy to win back working-class voters. Environmentalists and sections of the left see it as creating a caricatured opposition between ordinary people's diets, ecology and cultural diversity.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

Roussel contrasts the 'left of work' with a left that, in his view, focuses excessively on welfare benefits and minimum social payments. The expression triggers heated controversy on the left; Sandrine Rousseau and other figures accuse him of adopting right-wing rhetoric.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

Entering the presidential campaign, Fabien Roussel places strong emphasis on security, proposes notably 30,000 additional police officers and declares that his version of the left will not be 'soft on crime'. The position surprises and divides sections of the left and the PCF.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated