Success of the book "La Meute": La France Insoumise takes the blows and closes ranks

Two weeks after the publication of the book "La Meute" by journalists Olivier Pérou and Charlotte Bellaïche , a behind-the-scenes look at the clannish workings of La France Insoumise, it has become a real bestseller. But this does not weaken Jean-Luc Mélenchon's movement in the least.

25,000 copies of La Meute were sold in the first ten days, according to the GFK indicator, which analyzes purchases. "That's four times less than some of Jean-Luc Mélenchon's books," minimizes a close friend of the Insoumis. Yet that's a lot for this type of work: Flammarion, the publishing house, has even launched reprints. A dive into the bitter backstage of LFI and a powerful explosion.

But there's no sign of a fracture in the movement; on the contrary, they're united. "Beating us up doesn't make us implode. Any body that's attacked tends to tighten," says one MP. One official even claims that the book is a "damp squib."

However, criticism from some internally has not completely disappeared. "We still have debates and sometimes disagreements," swears a close friend of Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

But it's difficult to learn more. "The effect of the book is that we're less forthcoming. Because the people we confide in will report it in the press," he explains. Greater caution, distrust, and increasingly strained relations with other camps: "It reinforces the idea that we're unsociable," laments one rebel.

But meanwhile, Jean-Luc Mélenchon is charting his own course: 14 to 15% in the polls for the 2027 presidential election. This doesn't allow him to qualify for the second round. But he's never been this high two years before the election. So Manuel Bompard, the leader of the movement, even quips: "I can't wait for La Meute 2."