Proportional, number of parliamentarians… Macronists are preparing the reform of institutions

Institutional reform: an extremely sensitive issue. “It is the presidential domain”, warns a minister, while the Élysée is slow to set up the “transpartisan commission” to renovate the democratic functioning, promised by Emmanuel Macron during his campaign. During his greetings to the French, on December 31, the President of the Republic restarted the project for 2023: “We will have to launch the necessary adjustments to our institutions and to our public and civic life. “But the executive is” waiting for the right moment “, we say to the government, while the pension reform crystallizes the tensions.

In the meantime, Renaissance is taking the lead. It is not insignificant that it is Stéphane Séjourné, secretary general of the presidential party and former political adviser to Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée, who distills the outlines of future projects. Starting with the objective of a “better representativeness of our political system”, he insisted on Friday January 13, citing the “reduction of the number of parliamentarians” and an adjustment of the rules for the accumulation of mandates. “Should we let small elected officials, mayors, combine with the mandate of parliamentarian? This is a question that will have to be open and that we will have to decide. »

“New counter-powers”

In addition to the proportional to the legislative elections, the party plans to put on the table the idea of ​​​​a return to the seven-year term and mid-term elections, as proposed, in April 2022, by Emmanuel Macron to establish “a democratic breath”. Stéphane Séjourné also mentioned the emergence of “new checks and balances” by overhauling the powers of the Constitutional Council to make it “a real French-style supreme court”, as well as the evolution of “local democracy to make it more readable “. According to him, the ambition is to “lead to a simplification of the strata” of communities, to “rehabilitate electoral rites” and to reflect on “issues of referendum and consultation of our fellow citizens”.

The use of the shared initiative referendum had been at the heart of the democratic demands resulting from the great national debate following the movement of yellow vests. “There are many lessons to be learned from the various crises” experienced by the executive during the first five-year term, also underlined the boss of Renaissance.

The long work that is announced within the future “transpartisan commission” will aim to reach compromises on a reform in the impasse. In fact, the examination of the first reform proposal by the deputies had been interrupted in the summer of 2018, because of the Benalla affair, ex-project manager at the Elysee Palace involved in violence on May 1. At Renaissance, the task of preparing the party’s position for February was entrusted to Sacha Houlié, president of the law commission at the National Assembly, and Nicole Belloubet, former keeper of the seals. In August 2019, she presented a corrected reform with three new texts (constitutional, organic and ordinary). They were never put on the agenda of Parliament, for lack of agreement with the Senate.

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