In France, reactions were very numerous as soon as the results were announced last Sunday and a series of posts appeared suggesting that the dissolution of the national assembly announced by the president would lead to a resignation of the head of state . According to these contributors, this would be a manipulation allowing Emmanuel Macron to run for a third term. The president denies it and constitutionalists rule out this possibility.
From Sunday, the surprise effect generated by the announcement of the dissolution of the national assembly provoked reactions of incomprehension. For some, behind this decision lies a political maneuver: in the event of a victory for the far right in July, Emmanuel Macron would leave office, only to return in 2027. A scenario relayed by the so-called anti-system or even conspiracy sphere…
This account attributed to the former business operator Jérôme Kerviel convicted of breach of trust, wrongly suggests that Emmanuel Macron is preparing a third term.
Not finishing your term in order to be able to run for a third time… not stupid, it’s tempting… but dangerous… https://t.co/hJUfVrjbTD
— Kerviel Jérôme (@kerviel_j) June 9, 2024
Constitutionality
This scenario does not hold, according toJean Phillipe Derosier, Associate Professor of the Law faculties of the University of Lille . According to him : ” This is totally far-fetched. The Constitution is extremely clear. It does not prohibit Emmanuel Macron from serving a third term, but not following the first two. If the premature interruption of the mandate could make it possible to run for a new one, it would be enough for Emmanuel Macron, around February March 2027, to resign and say here, I am representing myself, that makes no sense.Section 6 of our Constitution provides that no one can hold more than two consecutive mandates. And so Emmanuel Macron is currently serving his second term. He was re-elected in April 2022. The mandate was entrusted to him. It’s definitely the second one. No matter when he takes a break once he finishes his second term, he cannot immediately run for a third. Another President of the Republic must first be elected and then, if he wishes, he can be a candidate again. » . Emmanuel Macron could therefore be a candidate in 2032 but not in 2027.
No third term
However, as soon as we talk about a third term, this fuels a wave of comments on the networks from Internet users who suspect Emmanuel Macron of wanting to stay in power like what is done in Africa, Russia or China. .
However, it should be noted that in France there has never been a question of a third mandate in the entire history of the fifth republic, as Jean Phillippe Derosier points out: “ In reality, in France, the presidents of the Republic who have succeeded in being re-elected for the first time are few in number compared to all those who have tried. And no one could be elected a third time even before this ban existed. Where in other regimes, it is something much more common and we can anticipate this desire of certain autocrats to want to circumvent it at all costs. This is not the case for France. I do not think so. No doubt we can blame Emmanuel Macron for many things, including twisting constitutional rules, but the Constitution remains stronger than him. Running for a third term is contrary to the Constitution “. Obviously there is always the possibility of revising the Constitution, to remove term limits, but it would be necessary to obtain the agreement of both Assemblies before ratification by Congress, difficult conditions to achieve given the political forces present…