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The head of state implicitly rejected, on Tuesday evening, the name of the senior civil servant proposed by the left-wing coalition. Although it is in accordance with the Constitution, his choice has been strongly criticized.
A last-minute proposal brushed aside. From the roof of the Musée de l’Homme, on France 2, France Inter and franceinfo, Emmanuel Macron implicitly refused on Tuesday, July 23, to appoint Lucie Castets to Matignon, as the New Popular Front had asked him to do less than an hour earlier. “It is wrong to say that the New Popular Front would have a majority, whatever it may be.”observed the head of state, without mentioning the surname of the previously unknown 37-year-old senior civil servant. “The question is not a name”he said from the Olympic plateau of France Télévisions.
Faced with this refusal, the NFP leaders saw red and insisted on the blindness displayed by the tenant of the Elysée. “Emmanuel Macron erases the result of the legislative elections. This is an unbearable denial of democracy”denounced on X Manuel Bompard, coordinator of La France insoumise (LFI). “Denial is the worst policy. The one that leads to the policy of the worst”continued Olivier Faure, head of the Socialist Party (PS), on the same social network. LFI MP Emmanuel Fernandes even mentioned A “institutional coup d’état”For her part, Marine Tondelier, leader of the Ecologists-EELV, compared the head of state to… her 5-year-old son, on franceinfo.
Since July 8, the day after the second round of the legislative elections, the left-wing alliance has been asking Emmanuel Macron to appoint a personality from its ranks, after his narrow victory at the polls. But the head of state justifies his position by putting forward the fact that the Prime Minister must above all avoid being overthrown by the deputies, via a motion of censure. “The question is what majority can emerge in the Assembly so that a French government can pass reforms, pass a budget and move the country forward”he argued during his interview, calling for “compromises”.
Does the President of the Republic have the right not to call on Lucie Castets to form a government? The appointment of the Prime Minister is specified in Article 8 of the Constitution: “The President of the Republic appoints the Prime Minister. He terminates his functions upon the latter’s submission of the government’s resignation.”it is written. No explicit obligation to appoint a particular person, no imposed timetable… The head of state therefore has free rein to do what he wants, observe public law specialists. “Emmanuel Macron did not disregard the Constitution and did not make a bold or problematic interpretation of it. He simply respected the text.”analyzes Bertrand-Léo Combrade.
“There is no institutional coup d’état.”
Bertrand-Léo Combrade, professor of public lawto franceinfo
“It is quite excessive to speak of a coup d’état. From the point of view of its competence, it does not violate anythingadds constitutionalist Thibaud Mulier. The appointment of the Prime Minister is one of the few functions that is perfectly autonomous and does not require countersignature. and the green light from the government. “If there is something we can criticize, it is the Constitution itself, but not Emmanuel Macronbelieves Bertrand-Léo Combrade. We can see that Article 8 leaves so much room for maneuver that it can impose a presidentialist reading on a Constitution which is that of a parliamentary regime.”
So much for the purely constitutional aspect. From the point of view of the history of the Fifth Republic, it is another matter, the specialists moderate. “When we look at the precedents of cohabitation, in 1986, 1993 and 1997, the president who had lost his majority in the National Assembly appointed a Prime Minister who was proposed by the political party that came out on top in the elections. We could consider that Emmanuel Macron should have made known his wish to appoint a Prime Minister designated by the coalition that came out on top, namely the NFP.”explains Bertrand-Léo Combrade.
“An election has taken place, but it has not been internalized by the power in placesupports Thibaud Mulier. This poses a more general problem: we have a political field dominated by the President of the Republic, whereas there should be a spotlight on the government-National Assembly duo.”
“It seems like you’re seeing someone who has the light above him, and who doesn’t want it to go away.”
Thibaud Mulier, constitutionalistto franceinfo
In any case, the New Popular Front does not really have any leverage to constrain Emmanuel Macron in the immediate future, apart from continuing to put pressure on the Elysée in the media. “They can’t do anything”says Thibaud Mulier. “The NFP cannot invoke any article of the Constitution to its advantage. There are no provisions that it could enforce against the President of the Republic.”assures Bertrand-Léo Combrade.
However, the professor qualifies, “The President of the Republic will not have the last word” in this unprecedented political situation. On the one hand, “The current government has resigned and can no longer reform. If it decided to reform, there would be legal action.” On the other hand, the left has a window to inflict a defeat on Emmanuel Macron, but only in the autumn: if the head of state finally decides to entrust the task of forming a government to a member of the alliance in gestation between the presidential camp and the right, the NFP could counterattack and try to overthrow him via a motion of censure… with the necessary support of the National Rally.
For the time being, the head of state has decided to stall by means of a “truce” Olympic Games that he had been calling for for several days. “Obviously, until mid-August, we have to be focused on the Games. And then from there, depending on how these discussions progress, it will be my responsibility to appoint a Prime Minister and entrust him or her with the task of forming a government.”he anticipated on Tuesday evening. Here again, the risk-taking is more political than constitutional. “The longer he waits, the more he exposes himself to criticism for the denial of democracy that he is demonstrating.”warns Thibaud Mulier.