JAMAIS-VU PARLIAMENT IN FRANCE

Victor C. Ariole argues that France is yet to handle its technology and renewable energy adequately, and are telling on its prosperity

“Dissolving the Parliament, I have decided to give French people the right to decide the future of our parliament”

Emmanuel Macron

Currently, France’s political ideologies are subsumed in, or subsets of, DeGaullism and LePenism; the former a benign aristocratic penchant, the latter a disturbed and revolved peasantry penchant. Macron did what De Gaulle would have done. However, the two personalities are not a match. With European Union elections that allowed more of LePenism into EU parliament, and fear of its influence in the main France’s Parliament.

Like France like its politics, globally mosaic and quite unique in espousing jamais-vu, the opposite of déjà-vu. Metropolitan France is in Europe, France in Collectivity is in the Pacifics, France in overseas as its Local Government Areas is in the Caribbean and Indian Ocean (Africa). Parliamentary power is not the same as Presidential power. While the President resides in Elysee, symbol of paradise, the Prime Minister resides in Matignon, symbol of salad vegetables which makes cohabitation possible, another great unique feature of French politics. The parliamentarians known as députés reside in Bourbon Palace – reflecting the glory of France as Bourbon progeny are almost spread in Europe and even in Morocco; the Senators, a lesser chamber than the Bourbon inhabitants, resides in Luxembourg Palace, a relic of the residence of Louis XIII’s mother, reminder of “Never Again” totalitarian rule in France. These are sub-structures with efficiently distributed coefficient values and geometrically located to respect the France’s perception of democracy and effective governance.

Matignon and Palais Bourbon are the two places the President, residing in Élysée, tests his/her capacity to rule France and possibly lead the people to the expected paradise on earth, at least.

General Charles de Gaulle within his two-term mandate in 1958-1969, having been forced out of retirement by President René Coty to be Prime Minister in 1958, resigned twice and resumed his presidential functions twice as French people found in him a great reconciler of both the right and left parties. He had the charisma to get the French people to change their centrifugal mindset and adopt his position of centripetal mindedness of “greater France, for greater humanity with France and its associates worldwide.”

Macron had attempted to follow that path within his first win on the ticket of “La République en Marche,”— an amorphous party of faithfuls united in blocking the votes of Extreme Right of Le Pen dynasty—from Jean-Marie Le Pen, through to Marine Le Pen to moderate Marion Maréchal Le Pen.

While Macron is struggling to survive that as the current snap election he ordered proves, he failed to abide by General de Gaulle’s approach of never letting down France’s associates mainly in Africa and the Pacific as coups d’état against France’s protected Presidents and New Caledonian restiveness prove.

Second round legislative election on the 7th of August 2024, made a great caricature of Macron’s leadership in France. Even when his presidency is not threatened unless he chooses to resign like General de Gaulle did, he seems to be interfering wrongly on who to accept as his cohabitation partners, both in the Parliament’s leadership and the Prime Ministerial choice. Cohabitation is a déjà-vu situation in France, as almost all the Presidents allow a Prime Minister that is not from their party to lead the government, based on parliamentary dictates of leading party. Which would have made first round win of Marin Le Pen extreme right party the Prime Minister, having scored 33% of the total seats of 577.

While the extant Prime Minister had tendered his resignation letter before parliamentary leadership election in the National Assembly so as to legally partake in the election as a deputy who regained his seat in the second round election, Macron refused to accept the resignation letter. However, himself and other 16 members of his government who are Macron’s friends still participated in the election that ushered in a re-elected President of the National Assembly—Yael Brown-Pivet, Macron’s group preference.

Both Left of Jean-Luc Mélenchon who protested against France’s presence in Africa and succeeded in weakening that presence, and Right Party of Marine Le Pen who is against Migrants, Algeria, and EU dominance were not allowed to lead the Parliament by what they termed Macron’s fraudulent immixtion as his Ministers partook in the election, having legally won the legislative seats though not allowed to partake in legislative duties if they remain Ministers.

This is where the Presidency wields greater power than the legislature as the unity of France is put to test. That unity failed to coalesce properly notwithstanding Macron’s call for snap election.

Ideologies failed to cohere as parties, individually, had splinters joining groups in the name of “Ensemble” led by the President’s Renaissance group that metamorphosed from “La République en Marche”, just 27.9%, National Patriotic Front led by Marine Le Pen, which made top win in First round 24.6%, Rassemblement National making top win in Second round, Nouveau Front Populaire led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon and his associates 32.6%. Six parties make up Ensemble group, Seven parties make up Nouveau Front Populaire, as Rassemblement National and its allies had the least number of parties—greatly more cohesive than others.

In effect France’s power pendulum is swinging between Far Right and Far Left, the former acting in the mode of Brexit, against EU, Immigration and Ukraine; and Far Left in favour of Welfare for French but against France’s interference in its colonial  zones. Macron chose the latter against the former.

However, his new Prime Minister yet undecided could make or mar France as the extant Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, is mere placeholder the Nigerian way, while the coalition of the Left in which the former President Francois Hollande who returned to contest and win as a Deputy expects to be decisive in installing a Prime Minister that must not be friendly with Macron the way Jacques Chirac acted as a cohabitation Prime Minister during Francois Mitterand’s presidency. Can anyone imagine a former President, coming out to be a House of Representative member in Nigeria?

Macron has not evolved a strategy that could lead France to prosperity like General Charles de Gaulle did, capitalizing on France’s associates outside Europe and USA. The current world of Technology and renewable energy-dominated is not well handled by France and it is telling on its prosperity index. For General de Gaulle, allies must feel the impact of France’s collaboration that should make them adhere to the credo of France — Liberté, Fraternité et Egalite. The French Right of Le Pen is not globally fraternité-minded as it prefers to be purist in its French culture and ways, declining to see France as “pays d’asile”, country of asylum of Gaullism; and the French Left is completely uninterested in the capitalist approach to governance — accumulating wealth with no respect of Égalité, that is equality in sharing the profit of wealth so accumulated by assumed great contribution of labour. Both are trying to be indifferent to religious issues except the Far Right that refuses to budge and insist in making it an issue, and if it has been winner-takes-it all system, first round election could have given it to the Far Right. Marion Maréchal Le Pen, the young face of Le Pen Dynasty wants to make it by feigning indifference to religion, she wants to make it; time will tell come 2027, with her 28 year-old frame — a jamais-vu in the making.

Ariole is a

Professor of French and Francophone Studies at 

University of Lagos