Several political figures, together with François Hollande, Marine Tondelier and Elisabeth Borne, in favor of the institution earlier than 2027 of proportional illustration in legislative elections | EUROtoday

Around sixty political figures, historians and political scientists have referred to as for the institution earlier than the 2027 presidential election of proportional illustration in legislative elections, “a new democratic breath for France”, in a textual content revealed by The Tribune Sunday February 8.

“Among the reforms that could be adopted” between now and the presidential election, “There is one which would be of great service to the Republic: the transition to a proportional ballot for the legislative elections”write the signatories of this discussion board on the initiative of deputies Erwan Balanant (MoDem), Guillaume Gouffier-Valente (Renaissance), Jérémie Iordanoff (Ecologists) and Marie Récalde (Socialist Party).

Among the signatories are former President François Hollande, former Prime Ministers Élisabeth Borne and Bernard Cazeneuve, the president of the MoDem group within the Assembly Marc Fesneau, the leaders of the Ecologists Marine Tondelier, the deputy Cyrielle Chatelain and the senator Guillaume Gontard, the president of Place Publique Raphaël Glucksmann, the presidents of the socialist teams Boris Vallaud and Patrick Kanner, and even the president (Renaissance) of the Laws Committee of the Assembly Florent Boudié.

“This state of affairs contributes to degrading the image of democracy”

The political scientists Loïc Blondiaux, Antoine Bristielle, Bastien François, Emiliano Grossman, Isabelle Guinaudeau, Rémi Lefebvre and Frédéric Sawicki, the constitutionalist Benjamin Morel, the sociologist Dominique Méda, the historian Christophe Prochasson and the director of the Terra Nova suppose tank, Thierry Pech, additionally signed this discussion board.

For the signatories, “the institutional constraints imposed by the maintenance of majority voting often slow down or even block this essential search for solutions likely to bring together majorities”.

“This state of affairs contributes to degrading the image of democracy and fuels the temptation to resort to strong power. It favors the rise of the extreme right. In such a context, this could well benefit in turn from the “winner takes all” impact – the winner takes all – related to the bulk vote and procure alone, with a 3rd of the votes, an absolute majority within the National Assembly. In a Fifth Republic which has given the chief department very intensive powers, there would solely be one step left to take to rework our democracy into an authoritarian regime as Donald Trump is at the moment in search of to do within the United States.they argue.

According to them, the introduction of proportional illustration could possibly be finished fairly rapidly since many political forces represented within the National Assembly are in favor of it. “Deputies from different political groups jointly tabled a bill to this effect last October and the same bill will also be tabled in the Senate soon. It must now be submitted to Parliament as quickly as possible”ask the signatories.