Emmanuel Macron came out of the silence. The Head of State took the floor this Wednesday, June 22 at 8 p.m. to address the French after the disappointment of the legislative elections. “I cannot ignore the fractures and the deep divisions which are reflected in the composition of the new Assembly”, declared the President of the Republic during his televised address, also referring to the strong abstention during the legislative elections.
“I hear and am determined to support the desire for change that the country has clearly expressed” because “it is my role as guarantor of our institutions”, affirmed the Head of State during this short speech of less than 10 minutes. For this, “I exchanged yesterday and today with the leaders of all the political formations”. And, according to him, “all expressed their respect for our institutions and their desire to avoid a blockage for our country”.
“We must collectively learn to govern and legislate differently,” he said. For Emmanuel Macron, the majority has the “responsibility to expand”, “either by building a coalition contract or by building majorities, text by text”. “In the moment we are living in, I believe it is therefore possible to find a larger and clearer majority to act,” added the head of state.
Emmanuel Macron wants all political forces to “clarify in the coming days the share of responsibility and cooperation” they are ready to take. “Enter into a coalition of government and action? Commit to vote only certain texts? Our budget? Which ones?” listed the head of state. “To make useful progress, it is now up to the political groups to say in complete transparency how far they are ready to go.”
“We will have to build compromises, enrichments, amendments, but do so in complete transparency, in the open if I may say so, with a desire for unity and action for the nation, which concerns all political forces” but also “the living forces”, declared the President of the Republic.
He specified that “we will begin to build this method and this new configuration” on his return from the European summit on Thursday June 23 and Friday June 24 in Brussels. “I hope that in the coming weeks this political overtaking will continue with clarity and responsibility. Clarity means never losing the coherence of the project you chose last April. Responsibility means building compromises “, he continued.
According to Emmanuel Macron, the establishment of a government of “national unity”, mentioned by certain officials, is “not justified to date”.
Emmanuel Macron also announced that, “from this summer”, it will be necessary to adopt “a law for purchasing power and for work to pay better, the first decisions to move towards full employment, strong choices on energy and climate, emergency measures for our health, whether it is our hospital or the epidemic”.
A little earlier, this Wednesday, Emmanuel Macron had completed his tour of the political forces to try to find a way out by receiving the national secretary of EELV Julien Bayou, the deputy LFI Adrien Quatennens and Edouard Philippe, boss of the party. Horizons. Tuesday June 21, he had received Christian Jacob (LR), Olivier Faure (PS), François Bayrou (MoDem) and Marine Le Pen (RN). Edouard Philippe thus again called on Wednesday for the creation of a “grand coalition” to give “a stable direction” to the country. For Adrien Quatennens, “national unity is when the Republic is to be saved”, or “we are not intended to come and save the ending era of a president who abused his powers in the previous five-year term” . At Les Républicains, “we will never be in the blocking of institutions”, repeats the president of the party Christian Jacob, but, with their sixty deputies, they do not want to enter “in a logic of coalition pact”.
For 71% of French people, that the President of the Republic does not have an absolute majority in the Assembly is a good thing for democracy and debate, indicates an Elabe poll for L’Express and BFM TV, in partnership with SFR , published on Wednesday. They are 44% to prefer a negotiation according to bills and only 19% to favor a government of national unity. Finally, 17% want a coalition agreement between the majority and one or more opposition camps.
