lThe left won the legislative elections because its coalition has the largest number of deputies. It is the majority, even if its majority is only relative. The president of the republic She should therefore have entrusted the leadership of the government to the leader of her choice, Lucie Castets. In another European Union (EU) country, the New Popular Front would have wanted and been able to seek compromises with other parties. It could also have formed a so-called “minority” government, without an absolute majority but not overthrown by the others. But the French parties are opposed to any compromise, to the point of risking a deadlock and a serious crisis. They remain tense on their programme, everyone dreams of the Elysée and an absolute majority in 2027. For this reason, and because the president wants to maintain control of the political agenda, the formation of a government takes over the Chinese puzzle. However, these two factors result largely from the voting method.
In a democracy, power implies responsibility. For this reason, like all other EU states except Cyprus, the Vmy The Republic establishes a regime that is parliamentary, simply because it organises the government’s responsibility to Parliament. Thus, according to our Constitution, the government is powerful, it is it, and not the president, who determines and directs the nation’s policy (Article 20), under the direction of the Prime Minister (Article 21), because it is legitimised and permanently controlled by the representatives of the people (Articles 49 and 50).
On the contrary, the president is guarantor and arbiter (Article 5) and, although directly elected by the people, does not have purely political responsibility (Article 68). What is he really? In other parliamentary systems in the EU, it is the prime minister who directs policy, never the head of state, even when directly elected by the people. In France, on the contrary, the president is often the leader of the parliamentary majority and therefore of the government. This dominance is largely explained by the fact that it has the right of dissolution (which in other respects corresponds in principle to the Prime Minister), all the more formidable as the vote is majority.
Cardboard saber
Indeed, since this vote in principle improves the image of the party in first place, many deputies risk losing their seats and are therefore encouraged to submit to the president. With proportional representation, most of them would be re-elected, so the right of dissolution would become a cardboard sword. Our president is therefore often very powerful, even if he is politically irresponsible. This domination, which allows him to interpret his powers very broadly, is essentially based on the submission of the parliamentary majority, which considers him its leader. And this, even if it is a relative majority, as during the periods 1988-1993 and 2022-2024.
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