To fight against the abstention and mistrust of the French vis-à-vis politics by putting democracy back at the heart of the debate: this is the stated objective of the exercise in which the candidates for the presidential election will engage in at the invitation of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (Cese), Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 February. The candidates or the representatives they have designated will speak and be questioned on the functioning of the institutions, the place of social dialogue, the role of civil society or citizen participation.
On Wednesday, Yannick Jadot (2:15 p.m.), Fabien Roussel (3:45 p.m.) and Anne Hidalgo (5:15 p.m.) will be present. Representatives of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Valérie Pécresse and Eric Zemmour will be questioned on Thursday. Follow and watch these interventions in our live.
• Forty-five minutes to convince. The candidates (or their representatives) will be questioned by three members of the Cese and a citizen, chosen from among thirteen people drawn at random currently participating in the work that the institution is carrying out on youth abstention. They give their vision of democracy, and explain how they intend to preserve and strengthen it during the next five-year term.
• What is the Cese? The third assembly whose existence is provided for by the Constitution, the Economic, Social and Environmental Council has 175 members from more than 80 civil society organizations: trade unions, employers’ and professional organizations, associations and players in social cohesion and environment. Requested by the government or the Parliament, the Cese gives its opinion on proposals and draft laws, ordinances or decrees submitted to it, in a consultative manner.
• Targeted questions. Should the National Assembly be reformed? Should the power of parliament be strengthened? Should more referendums be held? These are essentially the type of questions that the various candidates or representatives will have to answer.