French President Emmanuel Macron proposed two substantial changes to the French Constitution on Wednesday, October 4, just as the text turned 65. The first one to broaden the scope of Article 11, which describes the content and method of proposing referendums; and the second to ease the conditions for implementing the so-called shared-initiative referendum (Référendum d’initiative partagée, RIP). These amendments are intended to show the French people that the President is a unifying figure, anxious to overcome institutional deadlocks and provide answers to the urban violence that gripped the country at the beginning of summer.
Macron explained that these two reforms "will also make it possible to respond to the democratic aspirations of our time". In his speech, the president sought to take on the traditions of the Général de Gaulle – who inspired the current Constitution and inaugurated the Fifth French Republic – and promote "popular sovereignty," which "presides over all our institutional evolutions". "The Constitution, which must give those in power the strength to govern, is both a regime and a political project," emphasized one of his advisors.
The President's initiative comes in a particular political context, where the right and extreme right are arguing for the scope of the referendum to be extended to include immigration. Article 11 of the French Constitution currently limits referendums to international treaties and reforms affecting the organization of public authorities and economic, social and environmental policy. Like former socialist president François Mitterrand in 1984, who was caught in a "war" between private and public schools, Emmanuel Macron plans to extend the scope of the referendum to societal issues, thereby proposing a form of "referendum on the referendum" on immigration. François Mitterrand's attempt failed in 1984, when the Assemblée Nationale and the Sénat were unable to reach an agreement.
The left wing, for its part, wants to make the conditions on the RIP more flexible. Introduced in the 2008 constitutional revision, this legislative process must be initiated by a fifth of the members of parliament and then supported by a tenth of the electorate. No attempt has been successfully made in the last fifteen years, as its implementation is excessively restricted. If all the current political forces agree, it could be reviewed.
Broadening and relaxing the rules for referendums is controversial among politicians, with some fearing that representative democracy and direct democracy will compete with each other. Others fear that a "Pandora's box" will be opened, allowing a populist president to defy international conventions by directly consulting the people on issues, such as the death penalty. Emmanuel Macron insisted on Wednesday on the "healthy guarantees" that must prevent "evasion of the rules of law," in order to avoid such abuses.
You have 60.15% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.