Paris - For the first time since the Communist movement split from Socialists at Tours 77 years ago, a Communist Party leader will attend a Socialist Party congress this weekend when Mr Robert Hue travels to Brest in a gesture of allegiance to the French Prime Minister, Mr Lionel Jospin.
Mr Hue's visit, coming only a few days after Mr Jospin said he was proud to have Communists in his government, will be another sign of the prime minister's political ascendancy before he formally endorses his nominee, Mr Francois Hollande, as the next first secretary tomorrow and outlines the future leftwing coalition programme.
Mr Jospin's farewell address as party leader to a movement which he has run since 1995, after an earlier term from 1981 to 1988, will be a personal triumph after more opinion polls reflected his rising popularity. Le Parisien reported yesterday that 69 per cent of the electorate, including two-thirds of opposition voters, liked the way he handled the government and 68 per cent said they admired his personality.