The Middle East crisis is splitting the French opposition

A decade ago France’s Socialist Party controlled the presidency, both houses of parliament, and a majority of regions and big cities. Today the once-mighty party has been reduced to an inaudible minority partner in a left-wing parliamentary alliance controlled by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, a former Trotskyist firebrand. When this four-party grouping, known as NUPES, was first launched last year ahead of legislative elections, Socialist moderates accepted its logic through gritted teeth. Now, as differences over the Israel-Gaza conflict surface, the alliance is tearing itself apart.