“It’s no” because “I believe in democracy,” asserted Olivier Faure. Invited by the Head of State to a new “Saint-Denis meeting” with the heads of political parties on November 17, the socialist declined the invitation this Monday.
There has “never been a consensus on any subject” with Emmanuel Macron, he said on Public Senate this Monday. “It suggests that there would be a form of new circle”, “with a few happy few, a privileged few who would have the chance to speak with the head of state, the party leaders who would do their thing, it’s no,” he insisted. On the left, La France insoumise (LFI) was reserved about participating in a new meeting between party leaders and Emmanuel Macron.
A meeting to broaden the scope of the referendum
On the ecologists’ side, an official response will be given on Tuesday but the entourage of party leader Marine Tondelier emphasizes that her presence would make it possible to discuss environmental and social justice issues, and to push for a ceasefire in Gaza since the international topics will be discussed. The Communist Party authorities are due to raise the issue on Monday.
This meeting on November 17, the third, follows those already organized on August 30 and October 12, the latter entirely devoted to the conflict between Hamas and Israel. Its objective is to broaden the scope of the referendum to “societal questions”, around bills “relevant to so-called “societal” questions, to migration questions which relate to sovereign, economic, social or even diplomatic subjects”. Emmanuel Macron also proposes lowering the threshold to one million voters, compared to nearly five million currently, to allow the organization of a shared initiative referendum (RIP).