Two appeals were filed Tuesday before the Constitutional Council against the decree organizing the legislative elections. The same evening, two Nantes lawyers approached the Council of State to push back the date of the elections. France Insoumise must also file an appeal this Wednesday. Didn’t you understand anything? What are the reasons given? Do not panic. Here is a little recap to see things more clearly.
A hiccup in the calendar?
“What is being criticized are delay issues which will make the elections too short,” specifies Jean-Baptiste Soufron, member of the Association for the Defense of Constitutional Freedoms (Adelico), bringing the first appeal.
In summary, the law stipulates that the dissolution of the National Assembly and the first round of voting must be separated by a minimum of 20 days. As it stands, the first round must be held on June 30 in mainland France. The dissolution was effective on June 9. However, early voting is planned in certain constituencies, particularly overseas and abroad. As you will have understood, these ballots would therefore not respect the 20 day deadline. This is also underlined in the second appeal filed by lawyer Olivier Taoumi.
A non-existent emergency?
“The question is not to contest the dissolution of the Assembly,” adds Bertrand Salquain, one of the Nantes lawyers who contacted the Council of State. He speaks of “violation of the Constitution”. “We denounce the artifice of using an exceptional text by invoking a non-existent emergency to make such a serious decision on a Sunday evening,” he argues in a press release.
“What other country in the world would organize such important elections, leaving only five days to candidate between June 12 and 16, and plotting scenarios within secret cells,” the lawyer further underlines. Criticizing an “electoral hostage-taking”, Bertrand Salquain, also a candidate for the legislative elections, specifies that the Council of State has forty-eight hours to study the question and decide on a postponement of the vote. In which case, Emmanuel Macron would be forced to set a new timetable.
Organizational difficulties and a campaign that was too short?
For French people established abroad, proxy voting and electronic voting “cannot be organized in conditions of optimal security”, also establishes Adelico. “We would have to add a few days to the planned deadline,” announces Jean-Baptiste Soufron. To do this, the vote would first have to be canceled before being reconvened.
The applicants also fear that the short campaign will be too difficult for the candidates to organize. Setting up electoral propaganda, campaign clips or fundraising associations takes time. “It could dissuade candidates,” fears Jean-Baptiste Soufron, while former deputies have already returned to hitting the streets, like Marie-Charlotte Garin in Lyon.
The impossibility of registering on the electoral lists?
La France insoumise plans to file a third appeal this Wednesday before the constitutional council. If he takes up the points cited, he also denounces the freezing of new registrations on the electoral lists for the two rounds of the legislative elections.
Our file on early legislative elections
In theory, registrations remain possible until the sixth Friday preceding the first round. But, this deadline cannot be implemented in the case of these early legislative elections, the ministry confirmed Tuesday to 20 minutes “that there is no additional time to register on the lists. The election will take place from the electoral lists drawn up on the date of the decree (i.e. June 9).”
“Emmanuel Macron thus deprives millions of people of their right to vote,” protests LFI in a press release.