Benoît Hamon won the Socialist Party’s primary in France on Sunday with 58.7% of the vote. For the hopelessly divided Socialists, the election was an undeniable victory for the Left wing of the party. It was also a stunning defeat for Manuel Valls, France’s former Prime Minister, who staked out center-Right positions on immigration and labor.
Hamon is calling for a universal income that would reinforce the social safety net, the legalization of marijuana and a reduction in the work week from 35 hours to 32.
Video clip transcript:
“The world before you is more unstable than ever: Donald Trump’s accession to power in the United States, the pressure that Vladimir Putin is putting on Europe and the situation in the Middle East, the threat of Islamist terrorism by our doors, the environmental dangers. But everyone can clearly see that if we approach these challenges with fear, we will end up with candidates representing fear".