Parliamentary elections in France: the reminder

Macron wanted to lead the country like Jupiter, but he failed with this style. The French punished him. It’s over with the go-ahead.

French voters put a memo in the ballot box. A reminder for President Macron. It reads “No more politics from above, no more contempt for Parliament.”

Macron’s alliance loses the absolute majority by a large margin. The President, who once said that he wanted to lead the country like Jupiter, can no longer govern from now on, but has to find partners to push through his reforms. An impertinence for the man who prefers to play solo and has little time for the lengthy, tough and sometimes imperfect processes of democracy.

Self-importance strengthens the edges

Just a few days ago, Macron indirectly dismissed his political competition as unrepublican. As if everyone who criticized him and his alliance were enemies of the republic! Before the first round of voting, he announced that he wanted to create a so-called National Council for the re-establishment – a body made up of representatives from civil society, business and associations with no legitimacy whatsoever to advise on his reform plans. Then why have a parliament, many French people rightly asked themselves.

This high-handed way of running the country has resulted in two things: a stark strengthening of the left and right fringes, and another disastrous voter turnout of just 46 percent. According to surveys, well over half of the people in France would like a counterbalance to the almost omnipotent President Macron and his Abnick association in Parliament. It worked.

crisis as an opportunity

Macron can no longer do what he wants. The thoroughly presidential republic has been shaken. The strongest opposition force is the left-wing alliance NUPES, the second strongest force is the extreme right-wing Rassemblement National. The conservative Republicans, who have already been declared dead, could tip the scales.

It is already said that France will become ungovernable with this election result. The difficult balance of power will lead to chaos. But the so-called chaos could be salutary for this encrusted republic. She must now have the courage to reinvent herself. It must weaken the President and strengthen Parliament.

This can be done by all parties finally agreeing to abolish the first-past-the-post system and introduce proportional representation. More people felt that they were adequately represented in the National Assembly. And you could leave the reminder at home on election day.