Alexandre Chauveau / Photo credits: GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT / AFP
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08:43, June 26, 2024
If the National Rally wins an absolute majority on July 7, Jordan Bardella could be appointed Prime Minister and thus impose cohabitation on Emmanuel Macron. The situation would then be unprecedented since the appointment of Lionel Jospin under the presidency of Jacques Chirac, between 1997 and 2002.
In the event of arrival in Matignon after the early legislative elections, Jordan Bardella intends to rely on the Constitution to apply his program. Since the dissolution, the president of the National Rally has reread the Constitution several times: if the president remains the head of the armies, article 20 provides that the government “determines and conducts the policy of the nation”.
“I will take responsibility”
The Prime Minister therefore has, in theory, complete freedom to apply his policy. “I do not intend to be Emmanuel Macron’s collaborator. I will assume my responsibility, that of being a Prime Minister of cohabitation, respectful, because it is my nature and my education, of the function of president, of institutions, but I will be uncompromising on the policy for which we have been elected, and on the convictions which are mine”, assures Jordan Bardella.
So if in ideas, everything opposes the two men, their relationship, which began in August 2023 during the meetings in Saint-Denis, is also made of mutual fascination. However, the political standoff could well take place, in particular on the measures of the National Rally which clash with European treaties.
Another risk of friction between the Élysée and Matignon: that of appointments to key state positions, the bosses of the gendarmerie or intelligence for example, but also the directors of public companies, such as the SNCF or Aéroports de Paris . The RN leadership nevertheless remains confident in the Prime Minister’s room for maneuver, in particular through recourse to the regulatory route and circulars.