The President of the Republic declares that he wants to bring the broadening of the scope of the referendum “to completion”, without explicitly specifying the subjects he is thinking of. The right and the far right are demanding a consultation on the subject of immigration.
Emmanuel Macron promised, Wednesday October 4, on the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, to broaden the scope of the referendum. Could he, for example, convene one on immigration? Perhaps since the Head of State opened this institutional project at the end of August, during the meetings in Saint-Denis, in front of the leaders of the different political parties, notably those of LR and RN, who are calling for a referendum on immigration . Please note, in his speech on Wednesday before the Constitutional Council, he did not specify the subjects he is thinking about, but Emmanuel Macron did not exclude them either.
>> Immigration: “A referendum would be counterproductive”, responds the Economic, Social and Environmental Council to Emmanuel Macron
The right and the extreme right will therefore jump at the opportunity to demand such a consultation even more forcefully. Remember that for the moment, according to article 11 of the Constitution, a referendum can only relate to the organization of public powers, international treaties or economic and social policy reforms. But not on societal issues.
A sea serpent for almost 40 years
For the head of state, it would be politically very risky. Of course at the Élysée, we know that such an explosive subject would not help to calm the public debate. By moving forward in this way, Emmanuel Macron therefore took a big risk. Especially since the three-fifths majority of parliamentarians necessary to modify the Constitution could well exist to decide to broaden the scope of the referendum. So, obviously, it is not said that the head of state is in that much of a hurry.
Some suspect him of wanting to save time. After all, the promise of an expanded referendum is a snake already stirred by his predecessors, notably by François Mitterrand in 1984 to get out at the time of the private school crisis.
Is consulting the French more often a way to resolve the crisis of democracy? Maybe. This is why Emmanuel Macron also promises to simplify the procedure for the shared initiative referendum, a demand born from the yellow vest movement. Except that the referendum on everything and all the time also carries the risk of destroying parliamentary democracy, which is already in bad shape. What is the point of delegating power to representatives elected on the basis of a program, if this same program can be canceled at any time during the mandate by a referendum? In 1981, the French would probably not have abolished the death penalty by referendum. In short, no offense to the demagogues, the people are always right, of course, but it depends when and on what subject.