A each crisis, a response supposed to restore “sovereignty” au ” people “. To get out of that of “yellow vests”, Emmanuel Macron had launched the great debate. To go beyond that of pensions – which will leave traces – he has just relaunched the perilous construction site of the institutions, the reform currently in the Senate illustrating a certain number of dysfunctions.
Contested by a majority of French people, in particular those who say they voted for Macron to block the road to the National Rally and not for his project, this is considered perfectly legitimate by the Head of State, who recalls having been elected having promised to raise the retirement age. This conflict of legitimacy, coupled with a social movement which was to block the country on Tuesday March 7 and multiple excesses in the National Assembly, leads some to ask the eternal question: is France still governable?
Political scientist Chloé Morin tries to answer it in a book, We will have tried everything… (Fayard, 400 pages, 20.90 euros). According to the expert associated with the Jean Jaurès Foundation, our institutions can no longer generate enough consensus and political force for the Head of State, who finds himself in great difficulty, barely a few months after being re-elected. President with feet of clay, behind the Jupiterian mask.
Chloé Morin dissects the springs of the crisis of public action and decision-making: either the rulers decide, and “no one is happy”or they give up deciding, so as not to rush. “We have institutions that make it possible to wage war, but when it comes to making a decision (on climate change, for example), building consensus and buy-in, those same institutions are at the sadness, she points out. They no longer know how to generate bold decisions, let alone consent. »
Vertical practice of power
Formerly praised for its solidity and its flexibility, the 1958 Constitution is seen today as the generator of all evils (abstention, democratic fatigue, public impotence). Our resulting institutions would no longer be suitable for governing. They go ” Peter “even predicts Edouard Philippe in Chloé Morin’s book.
Two theses coexist among the political figures that the political scientist interviewed. Some, like the former Prime Minister, believe that our institutions, weighed down by procedures and standards, checks and balances and independent authorities, have “ossified” and that it becomes difficult for the executive, even with the best intentions, to generate momentum, so impeded is the system. Others believe, conversely, that the President of the Republic concentrates too much power and that a rebalancing must take place in favor of Parliament or the people.
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