French left agrees rare coalition deal to take on Macron

FILE PHOTO: French Socialist Party (PS) First Secretary Olivier Faure speaks during the party's investiture convention in Lille, France October 23, 2021. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo

PARIS (Reuters) - France's Socialist Party and the hard-left La France Insoumise (LFI) agreed in principle on Wednesday to run together in June parliamentary elections and try to deprive newly re-elected President Emmanuel Macron of a majority.

If confirmed, the coalition pact, which the Greens and Communists approved earlier this week, will be the first time the French left has united in 20 years - but under the helm of the eurosceptic, leftist LFI this time around.