Emmanuel Macron spoke at 8 p.m. from the Elysee Palace. In a brief speech, he dismissed the idea of a government of national unity and called on the other parties to say “how far they are willing to go” to cooperate. Political reactions have not been lacking.
>> Follow the latest reactions to Emmanuel Macron’s speech in our live
Emmanuel Macron “aggravates the confusion of the situation” for La France insoumise
“It is useless to circumvent reality”reacted Jean-Luc Mélenchon to the speech of Emmanuel Macron who, according to him, “aggravates the confusion of the situation”. “The Prime Minister must appear before the National Assembly and seek the confidence of the deputies. If she does not have it, she must resign.”
Today, there is no other reality than this: the executive is weak but the National Assembly is strong.
The Prime Minister must appear before the National Assembly and obtain a vote of confidence. If she doesn’t, she will have to resign.
#Macron20h pic.twitter.com/ZTex4Vc2hw— Jean-Luc Melenchon (@JLMelenchon) June 22, 2022
For the leader of La France insoumise, “the president reinterprets the political landscape starting from the idea that he would have received a clear mandate from the country”. “This is not the case, he was elected because a majority of French people did not want the far right. Since then, the majority of voters have rejected his proposals. From now on, the executive is weak and the National Assembly is strong.”
For Adrien Quatennens, “Parliament is the beating heart of democracy in this country.”
Have you seen this evening the President of the Republic back down on a single point of his program after his historic defeat? No. The social emergency cannot wait for its tricks. Parliament is the beating heart of democracy in this country. The blockage is him. #Macron20h
— Adrien Quatennens (@AQuatennens) June 22, 2022
“The Head of State is at an impasse and wants to maintain at all costs a project which is in the minority”reacted on franceinfo Eric Coquerel, deputy of La France insoumise of the 1st district of Seine-Saint-Denis. “Building compromises to destroy the country is not compromisesunderlines the deputy. I don’t quite see where the Head of State wants to get, except perhaps trying in seven days to succeed in attracting forces to him who have told him for the moment that they would not accept the national union, I am thinking in particular of the Republicans.”
The Socialist Party believes that “the President of the Republic did not understand the French”
The First Secretary of the Socialist Party, Olivier Faure, estimated that ‘no, the political parties don’t have to tell him how far they are willing to go to give him a blank cheque.’
No, the PR did not understand the French. No, he was not elected on a “clear project” but to block the RN. No, the political parties do not have to answer him how far they are ready to go to give him a blank cheque. #Macron20h
— Olivier Faure (@faureolivier) June 22, 2022
“What compromises is the President of the Republic finally ready for on his “clear project” (sic)?asks PS MP Boris Vallaud. It offers none. Today, the power is parliamentary: we are ready to make useful proposals to the French men and women.
For the Communist Party, “Macron discovers the virtues of parliamentary debate”
“After discovering public services in 2020, Macron discovers the virtues of parliamentary debate and the true role of the National Assembly in 2022!”, quipped Fabien Roussel on Twitter. For the deputy from the North and national secretary of the French Communist Party (PCF), “his discourse on the method aims to evacuate his responsibility and to change nothing of his project.”
His discourse on the method aims to evacuate his responsibility and to change nothing of his project.
Increase in wages, pre-recruitment at the hospital and at school, it is a plan to respond to the social emergency and the challenges of the century that the country needs!#Macron20h
— Fabien Roussel (@Fabien_Roussel) June 22, 2022
“We have a president who discovers, unhappy and groggy, that he will now have to deal with Parliament and that he will have to stop deciding everything and nothing on his own”reacted on franceinfo Sébastien Jumel, PCF deputy for Seine-Maritime.
“For five years, the President of the Republic has transformed his government into an army of collaborators and Parliament into Playmobil.”
Sébastien Jumel, PCF deputy for Seine-Maritimeat franceinfo
For the elected communist, Emmanuel Macron has “a partial and biased reading of the result of the second round” legislative elections. He recalls that the Head of State has today “a Parliament where the combative left, the left that does not give up, embodied by the Nupes and its various components, is a strong opposition group”. And according to him, he has “France has been so damaged, the Republic is pushed back so much that the National Front is massively entering the hemicycle, and this is a concern.”
No “blank check” for Les Républicains
“We will have to find a new order in the National Assembly to be able to work very differently”reacted on franceinfo Ian Boucard, LR deputy for the 1st district of the Territory of Belfort. “There is no longer a presidential majorityemphasizes Ian Boucard. We will have to learn to work differently, to work text by text of law to achieve a majority on each bill. For MP LR, parliamentarians, the government, “and in the first place the Head of State, will have to work differently”. He calls to “listen to each other’s ideas” on every bill “if the executive wants to pass them.”
“We are not intended to block the country, the French would not forgive us, but elected officials who are not going to compromise themselves.”
Ian Boucard, LR MP for the 1st constituency of the Territoire de Belfortat franceinfo
For his part, the new president of the LR group at the Assembly Olivier Marleix, declared on Twitter: “There is no alternative to the dialogue and respect mentioned by the President. But there can be no blank check on an unclear project”. He added that the LR deputies would “next week” proposals “on purchasing power”.
There is no alternative to the dialogue and respect mentioned by the President. But there can be no blank check on an unclear project. Next week the deputies @the Republicans make proposals on purchasing power.
— Olivier Marleix (@oliviermarleix) June 22, 2022
The National Rally castigates “the arrogance of Emmanuel Macron”
Jordan Bardella, acting president of the National Rally, welcomed on Twitter that “Emmanuel Macron’s arrogance is marking time”specifying that his group of 89 deputies would be “firm but constructive”.
This is the first time that Emmanuel Macron’s arrogance has slowed down a bit: this change comes from the people, who have made him a minority president. Our powerful group in the Assembly will be firm but constructive, with the sole compass of the interests of France and the French people.
—Jordan Bardella (@J_Bardella) June 22, 2022
“I saw a president who had taken a blow from a club”, “a president who sails on sight and who has not yet found the solution”said RN deputy for Moselle Laurent Jacobelli on franceinfo in reaction to Emmanuel Macron’s speech. “I found him very wordy and still haven’t figured out what he was going to do.”
“Emmanuel Macron realized that his idea of a government of national unity was utopia, but then what does he offer us?”asks Laurent Jacobelli.
“If I understood correctly, he is offering old recipes by poaching an LR lacking power here and a PS there. He did not understand the message of the French who want an opposition and put him in the minority. “
Laurent Jacobelli, RN deputy for Moselleat franceinfo
The RN deputy asks the President of the Republic “that he simply respects the institutions by voting project by project” as well as’“by listening to its opposition and amending its legislative proposals”. “If he wants to continue to function as he has always done by imposing his views against the people, he will not succeed”believes Laurent Jacobelli who warns: “The Purchasing Power Bill will be a crash test.”