World News: Macron, Democracy, and The Republic

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Category: World News - Europe

Published on Monday, 24 June 2024 12:30

Written by Olivier Longhi

The recent announcement by French President Emmanuel Macron to dissolve the National Assembly in the wake of shocking abandonment, in favor of the right, has left many wondering what shape the Republic will take after the snap elections.

Irresponsible! Thoughtless! Impulsive! So many adjectives that still try to qualify President Macron's decision to dissolve the National Assembly and to call early legislative elections on June 30 and July 7. However, this decision, which will certainly mark the history of the Fifth Republic, is now a thing of the past and we must now ask ourselves the only question that is worthwhile: Will our democracy survive it?

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After the shock linked to the announcement of the dissolution of the National Assembly, now comes the question of the survival of the French democratic model in the face of a far right that is not inclined to debate and not very interested in fundamental freedoms. But in the end, are we witnessing the death throes of a model or a crisis of the regime?

The tone as well as the rhetoric of this issue are deliberately alarmist, even catastrophic, but both by their excess also allow us to relativize the situation in which the country has been plunged. Naturally, our democracy will survive this decision on the condition that the choice that will be made by the majority of voters is that of survival and not of burying our way of operating.

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Political Atmosphere

Clearly, calling early legislative elections under the Fifth Republic is in no way an anti-constitutional crime since the possibility of resolving to do so is provided for by the founding texts of 1958. On the other hand, what can be discussed is the political atmosphere in which these elections are to take place. And it is obvious that since the lockdown episode, the country has slowly but surely sunk into a form of general uncertainty that questions the action of the executive.

As nature abhors a vacuum, the deep forces, so dear to the historian Pierre Renouvin, have taken over to expose the vile instincts of a fringe of the population caught in the vice of ignorance and victimization, but not only that. The rise of the extremes, which should also not be associated in a common design because the theses defended by the far right are not compatible with those defended by France Insoumise, is the result of a dereliction, or felt as such, by voters who are many tired of a dull existence that has been defeated by any ambition for social progress.

It is therefore in this context of mistrust, individualism and xenophobia, assumed by some, that high-risk elections will be held which, without jeopardizing our democracy, could nevertheless damage its foundations and ambitions, namely to ensure fundamental freedoms considered inalienable for all. Another question that also arises a few days before the elections: are there only democrats in France?

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Binary Issue

It is not inappropriate to question this idea because, in the end, some see in this election, this democratic expression through voting, the means of depriving several strata of the population of their fundamental rights such as the right of soil, acquired since the French Revolution.

This would amount to summarizing the upcoming electoral consultation to a binary issue, namely an opposition between pro-democracy and anti-democracy. Judged by the far right to be too lax and passive, the French democratic model should therefore be taken up again. However, the decisions advocated by the National Gathering, and that it could potentially be led to take, would quickly come up against the imperatives of the Constitution, which guarantees individual freedoms.

What should we think of this political and constitutional episode? Why not describe it, with all the caution that is required, as a crisis of the regime in a global political environment where the European and other far rights are experiencing a revival of interest?

Cyclical or long-term effect, it is still too early to say, historians will be able to qualify it, but it is certain that the Fifth Republic is today confronted with violent spasms like an epileptic. However, epilepsy can be treated...

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Bio: Olivier Longhi has extensive experience in European history. A seasoned journalist with fifteen years of experience, he is currently professor of history and geography in the Toulouse region of France. He has held a variety of publishing positions, including Head of Agency and Chief of Publishing. A journalist, recognized blogger, editor, and editorial project manager, he has trained and managed editorial teams, worked as a journalist for various local radio stations, a press and publishing consultant, and a communications consultant.