The idea of organizing the presidential election at the same time as the legislative ones prospers among the deputies of all persuasions.
The idea of organizing the presidential election at the same time as the legislative ones prospers among the deputies of all stripes, faced with the observation of a “weakening” of Parliament and a democratic crisis which they are struggling to overcome.
“The five-year term has been a political drama. The legislative election no longer exists, it is the substitute for the presidential election. This deprives the sovereign people of one of the major consultations”, launched Wednesday Alain Tourret (LREM) before the Legislative Committee of the Assembly.
“Blocked society” and “colossal concentration of power around the President of the Republic”
Soon at the end of his last term, the elected Calvados was alarmed by a “blocked society”, as shown by the yellow vests at the end of 2018, and a “colossal concentration of power around the president. of the Republic” liable to turn into a “caricature” of the Empire.
His committee was debating the conclusions of a report on the “modalities for organizing democratic life”, as the electoral deadlines approached.
The young deputies Pacôme Rupin (LREM) and Raphaël Schellenberger (LR) draw up the observation that “the growing distrust of elected officials is causing major democratic harm”, and formulate around twenty proposals, first and foremost the organization of the legislative “at the same time” as the presidential one.
Since the five-year term instituted in 2000 and the inversion of the electoral calendar, which saw legislative elections follow the presidential elections from 2002, the French have systematically ensured a majority for the newly elected Head of State, and the election of deputies aroused less interest and participation.
The president (LREM) of the Law Commission Yaël Braun-Pivet already proposed a year ago a vote on the same day for presidential and legislative elections, in order to “reduce” the effect of the first on the seconds, and many deputies expressed themselves on Wednesday in this direction. This would undoubtedly allow more “pluralism” in the Assembly and a “rebalancing”, according to Mr. Schellenberger. “We want a strong executive, but confront it with a strong legislature,” said Rupin.
Cécile Untermaier (PS) and Paul Molac (Freedoms and Territories) even suggested legislative elections before the presidential election.
But several speakers above all expressed their feeling of “powerlessness”: “the reports are added one after the other” and “in the end nothing happens”, let go of Ms. Untermaier. “The reports help us to converge” and today “we share the diagnosis on all the benches”, we nuanced on the right.
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