French government's LFI far-left strategy backfires after Mediapart report

The French government's strategy of linking La France Insoumise (LFI) to the far-left is facing backlash after a Mediapart investigation contradicted official claims, potentially backfiring on the executive. Mediapart reported Monday that a territorial intelligence commissioner said he was instructed "verbatim" to write that LFI was behind the October 17 unrest, despite this being "objectively false" per general intelligence consensus. A national police union official also disputed the accusations, calling it "dangerous to politicize such a gross failure." LFI coordinator Manuel Bompard announced plans to refer Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez to the Cour de Justice de la République, though Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu denied the allegations in parliament Tuesday. The government has repeatedly blamed LFI and "ultragauche" groups for organizing chaos, with Lecornu claiming a "nebula" aims to disrupt the presidential election. Experts note ultragauche movements, estimated at 5,000 militants, operate horizontally and reject electoral politics, with "no real connection" to LFI, though critics like Paris mayor Emmanuel Grégoire and PS leader Olivier Faure have defended the party, framing the accusations as scapegoating for a state security failure.