It’s a little music that’s starting to emerge. If Jordan Bardella became Prime Minister after the legislative elections, the RN would have experience of power, but Emmanuel Macron could play the safeguards as President of the Republic. Prevent certain excesses and excesses. Even. In 1978, in his famous speech in Verdun-sur-le-Doubs, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing warned that the Constitution did not give him “the means to oppose” the application of the left’s program if it this won. In 1986, faced with a hostile majority in the National Assembly, François Mitterrand said: “Many of our fellow citizens are asking themselves the question of how public authorities will function. To this question, I only know one answer, the only possible one. , the only reasonable one, the only one consistent with the interests of the nation: the Constitution, nothing but the Constitution, the whole Constitution.”
But our fundamental law is not always clear, which was never designed on the assumption of a diarchy at the top of the State. The President of the Republic has his own powers, which he exercises alone: he appoints the Prime Minister, submits a bill to referendum, dissolves the National Assembly, exercises exceptional powers in the event of article 16, refers the matter to the Council constitutionality of a law or an international commitment of France, appoints three of the members of the Constitutional Council as well as the president (this will be the case in 2025). The role of the Head of State is defined by Article 5: “He ensures compliance with the Constitution. He ensures, through his arbitration, the regular functioning of public authorities as well as the continuity of the State. He is the guarantor of national independence, territorial integrity and respect for treaties.
For the rest, its powers are shared, therefore subject to the countersignature of the Prime Minister. Article 20 also provides that it is the government, and not the president, which “determines and conducts the policy of the nation”. The president remains with tribunitian power, which depends greatly on the political force at his disposal.
Bardella at Matignon and the choice of ministers
The president theoretically decides alone on the name of his Prime Minister. But since the government is responsible to the National Assembly, it is intended to appoint a personality who has the support of the majority in the National Assembly. He cannot legally have a name imposed on him. Mitterrand had explored the possibility of choosing Jacques Chaban Delmas or Valéry Giscard d’Estaing in 1986 to show his freedom. As Jacques Chirac had locked out the right-wing parties, his name stood out. If the RN is in a position of strength and wants Jordan Bardella and only him, Emmanuel Macron will have difficulty getting around him. Things are a little different for the choice of ministers. It is “on the proposal of the Prime Minister” that the president appoints them. Until now, during the period of cohabitation, the president has been able to express reflections on the choice of two ministers, hardly more: that of Foreign Affairs and that of Defense – since he is the head of the armies.
The referendum on immigration
Without the agreement of Emmanuel Macron, the RN cannot propose the referendum on immigration which appears in its program. He knows this and begins to explain that he will abandon this measure for the moment. Article 11, according to many jurists, would not allow the French to be questioned about immigration. As for a constitutional referendum (the RN also proposes one), it assumes another condition: that the National Assembly and the Senate agree, which will not be the case.
Laws
“When Parliament passes a law, I become a notary and when within the time limit given to me, I have to sign, I sign, otherwise I would be in a situation of failure. It is the will of Parliament which prevails “: François Mitterrand had been very clear. In fact, the RN cannot be prevented on the legislative level. On the other hand, Emmanuel Macron can refer the matter to the Constitutional Council before promulgation of each law. The Parliament’s agenda depends on a somewhat particular gymnastics: the president can have his say on that of an extraordinary session, since he is the one who convenes it.
Prescriptions
This is a very thorny point. The RN proposes to use it, for example on immigration. If an order passes the council of ministers, it must be signed by the president and nothing obliges him to do so. He can require the government to proceed instead with an ordinary bill.
The decrees
They are essential to the proper functioning of institutions and were the subject of an important decision by the Council of State in 1992, with the Meyet ruling. Any decree passed by the Council of Ministers must be signed by the President of the Republic.
The appointments of prefects, rectors…
Here again, any appointment which passes to the council of ministers (this is the case every week, at a sustained pace, whether it concerns prefects, rectors, directors of central administration, etc.), requires a presidential countersignature. . “Nothing would prevent Emmanuel Macron from saying that certain appointments affect the neutrality of the public service,” points out constitutionalist Denys de Béchillon. In 1993, François Mitterrand explained: “When they really fall strictly within the will of the government which needs to have with it the senior civil servants of its choice, I let the government make the proposals to me that it wishes. wishes When it comes to positions that interest the country and my authority, I intervene, and when it comes to changing one man for another without there being obvious reasons, I make it observed. .”
Reserve social benefits for the French
Jordan Bardella reiterated on June 11 his desire to apply this flagship measure of his program. The realization can be complex during periods of cohabitation. If the RN acts through a bill, Emmanuel Macron can refer the matter to the Constitutional Council before promulgating the text – which Council recently recalled that the exclusion of people in an irregular situation from the benefit of legal aid created a breach of equality and was thus unconstitutional. If the RN wants to circumvent the Council’s interpretation, it must modify the Constitution. If he acts by decree, he must obtain presidential signature.
Europe
This is an area that would prove highly conflictual. In previous cohabitations, Europe remained a (more or less) consensual subject between the right and the left. This would no longer be the case. Example: the launch of Ukraine’s accession process. Emmanuel Macron is in favor of it, Jordan Bardella is opposed to it. But in the European Council, there can only be one voice from France. This assumes that the president and the prime minister agree on a common position, for example when considering a European treaty.
Another interesting case: the RN is calling for an exit from European electricity pricing rules, citing the example of Portugal and Spain. The exemptions obtained by these countries result from negotiations between the European Commission and the governments – Emmanuel Macron would then have his say.
Ukraine
Tensions can be maximum on this subject which mixes diplomatic and military decisions. Could Emmanuel Macron send Mirages, as he said, with a government led by the RN? The question of arms sales (or aircraft donations) also responds to budgetary considerations.
The subject of external operations is also complex. The decision to commit the armies is taken by the President of the Republic in the Defense Council on the basis of the prerogatives he holds from Article 15 of the Constitution and Article 5, paragraph 2, which makes him the “guarantor of national independence, territorial integrity and respect for treaties”. But the constitutional reform of July 23, 2008 strengthened parliamentary control. If the external intervention extends beyond four months, the government submits this extension to Parliament for authorization.
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