Castets was a member of the
Socialist Party between 2008 and 2011, when she was a supporter of
Martine Aubry and the
Union of the Left. Castets entered elected politics for the first time after being selected to stand as a candidate for the Socialist Party in the
2015 regional election in
Normandy, although she was not elected. Castets left the Socialist Party in 2011, due to disagreements with the political direction of
François Hollande. In 2021, Castets cofounded the
Nos services publics collective, which seeks to "highlight dysfunctions and make proposals" to improve
public services in France.
Prime ministerial nomination In July 2024, Castets was nominated by the
New Popular Front as their candidate for
prime minister of France, in the aftermath of the
2024 legislative election in which the NFP won the most seats but not a majority. Following her nomination, Castets said that her political priorities were reversing the pension reform by
Emmanuel Macron, a tax reform to make sure that "all pay their fair share", and to improve purchasing power by raising salaries and social benefit payments. Macron dismissed her nomination, initially saying that he would not make any decisions before the end of the
2024 Summer Olympics and that "the question is not a name", but which governmental majority would be formed in the
National Assembly. Castets rejected forming a coalition with Macron's
Ensemble group due to what she said were profound disagreements, and urged Macron to accept her nomination. The president declined to appoint Castets again in late August because other parties said that they would topple a NFP minority government, and in September appointed
Michel Barnier of
Les Républicains instead. == Positions and op-eds ==