Tribune. Fragile within our country, attacked near our borders, democracy is neither acquired nor natural. She does not go by herself. It is clear, from election to election, a devastating erosion of the electoral base and great democratic fatigue. All the candidates shared this observation during the hearings organized on February 23 and 24 at the Economic and Social Council. Beware of the disillusionment of the aftermath of the election. On the evening of the second round, the president may well find himself running out of the democratic fuel necessary for the serene conduct of a common project.
Democracy is not just a voting system. It carries values, opens a horizon of participation, commitment, emancipation. For the vote to have meaning, for our fellow citizens to rediscover the desire to cast their votes, democracy must revitalize itself.
The status of elected more questioned
For my part, I remain optimistic. There is less a crisis of democracy than a growing crisis of democracy. Are citizens ever more emancipated, informed and demanding? Are they less and less willing to be represented without accountability? It is the translation of a conquest of democracy, even if it makes society more reactive and complex to decipher, and the status of elected official more questioned or even contested.
There is a new energy and legitimacy here that must be recognized. The experience lived by everyone must be able to complete and shed light on the expertise held by a few: just like the XXe century educated in voting, the 21ste century must educate in the co-construction of public policies, in a culture of contradictory debate and long-term involvement.
“Democracy, as an art, must be taught and practiced regularly”
While 57% of French men and women think that democracy does not work well in France, 70% are of the opinion that it would work better if citizens were more involved in it (Barometer of political confidence by Cevipof, in partnership with the Economic, Social and Environmental Council). Just as political democracy must be enriched by social democracy, representative democracy must be revitalized by participatory and deliberative democracy. The EESC intends to contribute to this. With citizen conferences, panels, consultations, petitions, a new democratic matter is in circulation.
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