A law promoted by Sarkozy in 2007 forces members of government who fail to win seats in the National Assembly to resign from office
The prime minister, Élisabeth Borne, and 14 members of her government are risking their positions in the second round of the French parliamentary elections to be held on Sunday. They are all running as candidates for deputies in their respective constituencies and will be forced to resign if they don’t get the support of their neighbors. This rule was imposed in 2007 by Nicolas Sarkozy and in the previous nomination in the parliamentary polls, 2017, the four ministers and two Macron secretaries of state who presented themselves were elected.
But this time, the success of the members of the Executive is not guaranteed. Of the fifteen members of the Executive, three are in trouble and could be without a seat in the National Assembly, the House of Representatives. Borne, appointed prime minister by Macron a month ago, is running in an election for the first time in her life. She has never held a local mandate, nor has she been a deputy or senator. His professional career has developed entirely in administration, in ministerial cabinets and in large public companies.
The prime minister will compete in Calvados’ sixth constituency with Noé Gauchard, representative of the New Popular, Ecological and Social Union (Nupes). Borne received 34.3% of the vote and Gauchard 24.5% in the first round.
Taking into account the results from three days ago, eleven ministers seem well positioned to secure a seat in the National Assembly. Among them Gérald Darmanin (Internal Affairs) and Damien Abad (Solidarities). The latter, who has a physical disability, has been embroiled in a scandal when he was accused of rape by two women. Three other portfolio holders are in trouble: Amélie de Montachalin (Ecological Transition), Stanislas Guerini (Government) and Secretary of State Clément Beaune (European Affairs).
Of the 577 seats to be won, only five deputies were elected in the first round: four from Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s left-wing trade union (Nupes) and one from Macron’s party. Macron’s party and Mélenchon’s left-wing union held a technical tie. The presidential coalition won 25.75% of the vote, while Nupes got 25.66%.
Four days before the second round of the parliamentary election, Macron on Tuesday urged citizens to give his party “a firm majority” in the National Assembly on Sunday in the name of the “highest interest of the nation”. “Nothing would be worse than adding a French disorder to the world disorder,” the president said in a dramatic tone, referring to the war in Ukraine and criticizing the programs of Mélenchon and the far-right Marine Le Pen, without mentioning them. “Nothing would be worse than losing ourselves in immobility, in the blockade and in attitudes,” said the head of state, who believes these legislative measures are “crucial” for the country’s future.
“We must defend our institutions against all those who fight and weaken them,” Macron added in a solemn statement from the runway of Paris-Orly airport, before taking the presidential plane to visit Romania and Moldova and possibly Ukraine.
Environmentalist Julian Bayou thinks the words of the tenant of the Elysée show that “he is losing his nerves” in the face of the possibility that his party will not achieve an absolute majority, set at 289 seats. Bayou denounced “the attempt to diabolize Nupes” by the Macronists.
Mélenchon, leader of the left-wing union, dreams that Nupes will get an absolute majority. According to his calculations, if this happens, Macron would be forced to appoint him prime minister and there would be cohabitation, the forced cohabitation between a president and a head of government of different political persuasions. However, this scenario is quite unlikely, according to the forecasts of all polling stations on the distribution of seats in the National Assembly.
Source: La Verdad
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