The leaders of the Republicans, the Socialist Party and La France insoumise have already announced their refusal to participate in the meeting scheduled for Friday.
One invitation and several refusals. Emmanuel Macron is organizing, Friday, November 17, a new “Saint-Denis meeting” with the leaders of political parties. But the table for this meeting, based on the model of the first organized at the end of August, has continued to shrink in recent days, depending on defections.
The president of the Republicans announced on Tuesday that he had declined the invitation, seeing “yet another communication approach”which he refuses to be “the alibi”. After participating in the meeting in August, Eric Ciotti had until then suggested that he would repeat the experience. But,“the absence of the President of the Republic on Sunday at the demonstration against anti-Semitism ended [le] convince not to participate”.
LFI denounces “a communication exercise”
On the left, the first secretary of the Socialist Party announced on November 6 his refusal to attend the meeting. In a letter to Emmanuel Macron published Thursday, Olivier Faure justifies this decision because of“an agenda essentially devoted to broadening the referendum field of our Constitution”. “You are acceding to the long-standing request made by the far right to open the possibility of a referendum on migration issues,” he says.
Mister President,
Here are the reasons why I will not attend your invitation tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/f0oqBnXclO— Olivier Faure (@faureolivier) November 16, 2023
“We reject the multiplication of these monarchical exercises aimed at circumventing the debate organized in its constitutional forms. This is why we will not participate in this new communication exercise. We will continue to bring our proposals to Parliament”writes La France insoumise, which notably criticizes the Head of State for not taking into account the proposals made by LFI during the previous meeting.
The Greens, the Communists and the RN present
Several opposition leaders will still be present. The leader of the French Communist Party, Fabien Roussel, and the national secretary of Europe Ecologie-Les Verts, Marine Tondelier, announced their arrival. The latter confirmed her presence to the AFP so that “environmental justice and social justice are at the heart of the discussions”. On the far right, Jordan Bardella will represent the National Rally.
The boss of the UDI, Hervé Marseille, as well as the members of the majority will complete the round table. Stéphane Séjourné (Renaissance), François Bayrou (MoDem), Edouard Philippe (Horizons), Laurent Hénart (Radical Party), will therefore be among the personalities present. Finally, the President of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, the President of the Senate, Gérard Larcher, and the President of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council, Thierry Beaudet, are also expected.
Despite the refusals, the Elysée assured Tuesday that the doors “will remain open” until the end. Dn his invitation, the President of the Republic called for “overcoming divisions in the interest of the country”emphasizing that the “reflections on the avenues for development of the referendum will also have to be continued“. “It would involve both taking up bills relating to so-called ‘societal’ issues such as the end of life sometimes mentioned, but also broader reforms affecting several intertwined aspects, as is the case with questions migratory issues which concern sovereign, economic, social or even diplomatic matters..