EShe is the university of the band of small candidates. At 34, Clara Egger has decided to run in the presidential election to carry the citizens’ initiative referendum, this famous RIC which has flourished on the placards of the Yellow Vests. A political fight in which she believes “viscerally”, in her own words, and in which she threw herself body and soul. “If I accepted to be a candidate, it was to carry out a project: that of democratic transition. It is time to give citizens the right to write the law directly, without elected officials being able to supervise them or regain control over it. 75% of French people claim this right. And this figure has been stable for many years,” says Clara Egger.
Explosion of public debt, inability to deal with long-term issues such as global warming, massive abstention… For her, the problems facing France are all linked to its political system. “Why can’t we find compromises and great visions of society? Because with the alignment of the mandates of the president with that of the deputies and the inversion of the electoral calendar, power is concentrated in a few hands, preventing discussions. In this political circus, citizens are reduced to the rank of helpless spectators, ”she analyzes.
The Swiss RIC as a model
His interest in the RIC is not new. “My click for direct democracy came when I saw it working in Switzerland, explains the one who obtained her first university post in Geneva. It was magical to see this citizen activism. The proposals made by the Swiss are extremely elaborate. And Swiss elected officials behave very differently from French elected officials: they listen to different points of view because they know that they are always acting on borrowed time and that they don’t have the last word. Swiss citizens have the possibility to suspend the application of the laws. »
They are unknown to the general public, have no chance of winning and have nevertheless decided to embark on the battle for the presidential election. What motivates them? What do they recommend? Point went to meet these small candidates with big ambitions.
Stéphanie Rivoal, an ambassador in the race
Jean-Marc Governatori, never two applications without three!
Fabrice Grimal, the ex-Yellow Vest who targets the Élysée
Alexandre Langlois, a cop in the presidential race
Rafik Smati, a web entrepreneur in the presidential arena
The RIC entered Clara Egger’s life at the same time as Raul Magni-Berton, who has since become her husband. Professor of political science at the IEP of Grenoble, this teacher-researcher works on direct democracy and on the effects of different types of political organization. It is hand in hand that they lead their adventure in the political world. Raul Magni-Berton is his campaign manager. “My conversion to the RIC is also intellectual,” says Clara Egger. I looked at the qualities of democracy in different countries and wondered how we could produce virtuous public policies. There is no mystery: the RIC is a good measure for this. Established for almost 200 years in Switzerland and also in half of the states in the United States, we have some perspective on its operation. Icing on the cake, it is beneficial in terms of citizens’ rights. »
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Candidate of the Yellow Vests
Nothing predestined these two teacher-researchers to enter the political arena. It is the movement of the Yellow Vests that will precipitate them into collective action. Listening to their claims, the professor of international relations at the University of Groningen (Netherlands) realizes that millions of people think like her. “A month after the start of the protests, the demand for RIC was on all the roundabouts and on all the signs,” she recalls. And Raul Magni-Berton adds while having fun: “I was a living room nerd. I transformed myself into an associative being. »
In reality, it is the reception given by the political and media world to this institutional claim that will decide them to march alongside the Yellow Vests. “The government’s reaction to the request for the establishment of the RIC has been unworthy and needy,” she said. Ulcerated and stunned by the speeches and the ignorance of the policies, the two lovers decide to popularize the research made for several years on the RIC. From this work was born the first French book on the subject: The citizens’ initiative referendum explained to everyone: at the heart of direct democracy (FYP Editions). The two authors provide a complete overview of the history of the RIC, highlighting its effects on democracy, public policies and citizens. They also explain the conditions for its implementation in France.
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Therefore, here they are solicited by the movements that have been defending the RIC in France for several years. To quench her thirst for direct democracy, Clara decides to go to the other side of the force for the first time. During the European elections, it approaches the Movement for the citizens’ initiative which defends the referendum. Drawn by lot, she is second on the list led by Gilles Helgen, business manager in Ille-et-Vilaine. The result is clear: they only get 0.03%, or precisely 6,286 votes. What cool the ardor of the most voluntary? Not those of Clara Eger and Raul Magni-Berton!
“This experience testifies to the difficulty for a citizens’ movement to make itself heard and to play in the same court as that of traditional political parties”, analyzes the 30-year-old. So when the Espoir RIC association came looking for them, they did not hesitate long to join forces with this movement born in the 1980s under the name of “Article 3”. “The association suggested that we carry out a presidential project centered on the democratization of our country via the establishment of the constituent RIC,” she explains. We worked by asking ourselves if it was appropriate to have a candidate or if it was preferable to form a pressure group to question the candidates. They chose the first solution and wrote a project. Because, like all the small candidates, Clara Egger refuses the idea of a candidacy of testimony.
Among her campaign objectives, the candidate wants to be heard on the question of the powers of the president. “His essential function is that of referee, explains Clara Egger. We must get out of the logic in which presidential candidates present themselves with a legislative program. If they want to govern, let them present themselves to the deputation…” So don’t go looking, in his program book So that voting is finally useful (Studio Talma, January 2022), measures on immigration or purchasing power that occupy people’s minds… “The RIC is not just a measure, it is a social project, defends Raul Magni-Berton. It really is a game-changer. The representatives of the citizens no longer decide alone, they work while listening to the citizens, because they know that it is the latter who will have the last word. And to note: “The objections to direct democracy are exactly the same as those made by universal suffrage 100 years ago. »
Union will be strength
At the time of the collection of the 500 signatures necessary to stand for the presidential election of 2022, the association Espoir RIC 2022 and its candidate have just published a survey in order to measure the support of the French people for the creation of a referendum. constituent of citizens’ initiative. The result is clear: 73% of French people say they are in favor of allowing 700,000 citizens to submit a revision of an article of the Constitution to a referendum. It is even 25% of respondents who say they are “totally in favour”, marking the importance of a broad base of support for the measure.
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Will that be enough to convince 500 mayors to give it their signature? Nothing is less sure ! “This sponsorship race is not easy, recognizes the one who appealed to mayors this summer. Not all small candidates will have them. Only a reconciliation between us will make it possible to obtain the 500 initials! “Discussions are underway, particularly with Alexandre Langlois who has taken over the RIC in his program. Discussions have also been established with Jean Lassalle. The deputy, presidential candidate, did not take up the idea, but he tabled a bill taking up the idea of the RIC. Gradually, the idea took root.