A series of elections over the last eighteen months have revolutionized the French left. In 2012 the Socialist Party (PS) candidate François Hollande swept to the presidency on a 52 percent mandate. Yet his term in office in the post-crisis period was so disastrous that he did not even attempt to stand again in the spring 2017 contest, and PS contender Benoît Hamon scored just 6 percent of the vote. Furthering its woes, in subsequent parliamentary elections the historic center-left party was reduced from 280 to just 30 seats in the National Assembly.

So bad was the party’s collapse that 2014–16 PS prime minister Manuel Valls barely held onto his seat, resisting a strong challenge from La France Insoumise (LFI)’s Farida Amrani by just 139 votes. Her movement had already made strong headway in the presidential election, in which its candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon scored almost 20 percent of the vote. She today faces a fresh opportunity to win this Évry constituency; last month Valls quit Parliament, to cries of “good riddance!” from LFI legislators. With his PS forced to leave its offices, Valls now seeks a new career in Spain.

A CGT union activist and mother of three, Amrani is now the frontrunner to become MP for Évry, a new town just south of Paris. The by-election takes place at a time in which liberal president Emmanuel Macron’s popularity ratings are in free fall while Jean-Luc Mélenchon is France’s most popular political leader. Jacobin spoke to the LFI candidate about her view of its progress, how it differs from traditional political parties, and the role of an MP who remains in touch with social movements.