On the evening of the European elections on Sunday, June 9, an adviser to the Elysée Palace drew a parallel between Emmanuel Macron's decision to dissolve the Assemblée Nationale and the same decision made by President Charles de Gaulle on May 30, 1968, to end the crisis of May 1968. The context, the adviser pointed out, was completely different, but the objective remained the same: To regain lost legitimacy. Nearly 60 years ago, the decision resulted in an Assemblée that was largely in favor of de Gaulle, who had bet on the legitimist reflex of the French, tired by weeks of deadlock. After what de Gaulle famously called "chienlit" (or chaos; literally, "shit-in-the-bed"), order was restored.
As soon as he announced the dissolution, Macron used this strategy, denouncing the "disorder" and "fever" fomented by the extremes who sowed confusion in the Assemblée and polluted public debate, while threatening to topple his government. "Without a dissolution, it would have been chienlit," he said, on June 18 on the island of Sein, off the coast of Brittany, where he was celebrating the 84th anniversary of de Gaulle's call to resistance. And here we are.
His bet was simple: To play on the fears of the French, wishing to appear once again as the only reassuring recourse ("You know me"), the guarantor of order and stability, in the face of extremes and their excesses. But this time, it's the other way around: The president, whose role is to cushion shocks, comes across as the one who created disorder. "President Macron, how could you put us in this situation (...), this chaos?" a person on the island of Sein challenged him on Tuesday. "His decision, which has not been understood, has led to a loss of reference points and major concerns for the future," said Frédéric Dabi of the polling institute IFOP, adding that "the French seem to think that the chienlit is him."
'France on the verge of a nervous breakdown'
What could be more "democratic" than a "return to the people," the president has repeated since June 9. However, the hasty organization of this election raises questions. Rarely has there been such a short deadline for calling an election. Just 20 days, the minimum required by the Constitution. The campaign will already be over before it even began. This haste compromises substantial debates and puts candidates at a disadvantage. They have had no time to prepare, far from the serene conditions that should allow the desired "democratic breathing space." On June 30, in the first round, only 4,011 candidates will be able to stand before the French people, compared with 6,290 in 2022.
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