In 1988, François Mitterrand was re-elected President of France but the PS obtained only a relative majority in the National Assembly.
Elected with a moderate program (for a "united France"), Mitterrand chose his former rival Michel Rocard, leader of the right-wing of the party, as Prime Minister.
It gathered Rocard's supporters and a part of the Mitterrandist faction led by Jospin, comprising those members with a background in the grassroots of the party and a long history of membership.
Other minority factions which presented proposals to the Congress were: Pierre Mauroy was re-elected First Secretary with the support of Jospin and Rocard.
The violence of the debates gave a very bad public image to the PS and contributed to its decline at the beginning of the 1990s.