A new hand to build a new house of cards?

Blog, 12/01/2024, by Sven Franck

This week saw the president appoint the a prime minister of his 2nd quinquenat after a turbulent immigration law was first retired with the help of the extreme left and then adopted with the votes of the extreme right. A project that would more than benefit from being adressed with our European partners now will go down as one of the first laws adopted by the extreme right. In the year that France wants to welcome foreigners from all over the world for the Olympic games, our political system is sending a clear message: foreigners are now second class citizens in France and now longer welcome.

The prime minister has since resigned along with her government and the president reshuffled ministerial posts moving the country and Renaissance another step on the foot of the Republicains and a far cry from the pro-european stance and vision that was supposed to be neither left or right and which got him elected back in 2017. The electorate that voted for surpassing the age-old divide between left and right consequentlially no longer feels politically represented - a dangerous fact, since their votes will be needed in future elections with both the extreme right and left vying to lead France anywhere from out of Europe and into the arms of Russia.

Consensus is a foreigner in the french political system

The 5th republic was constructed to govern with absolute majorities. Whether its mayors getting 50% of seats along with their actual share of the vote or regional presidents getting a 25% bonus for finishing first, France is not used to oppositions. Look at LFI: during the last quinquennat they could only make noise to be heard in an opposition without any power. Within the Nupes and flanked by the Greens and Social democrats, they could have played a defining role as an opposition that works hard to get some of their proposals put into legislation. But instead they resort to just more noise faced with a government that itself was not seeking to compromise on its projects but rather use any means available to bypass the National assembly.

Our political culture in France puts us at odds with other European member states. Beyond our borders, it is normal for forces on the right and left to work together in coalitions often even spanning political divides. A coalition in Germany between liberals, greens and social democrats is just as viable as a coalition between conservatives and greens. Can we imagine Renaissance, The Ecologistes and the PS forming a government or the Republicains governing with the Ecologises? We can't because we don't seek to find compromises and consensus to implement some of the programms we were elected on. Instead whoever looses an election eyes the next and tries to make the winner look bad during its mandate to the detriment of the country. Is this the politics we want for France?

Positive change from outside of the system

The 2024 European elections offer a chance to shuffle the political landscape before the 2027 presidential elections. We need new actors that can work together, new personalities that receive the confidence of electors and a positive outlook for France at the heart of the European project. Volt France is such a new political actor. Founded in 2017 after the referendum for Brexit, Volt is today active on local, national and european political level with over 25000 members in 31 European countries. Pragmatism and working together across borders are two key elements of Volt's idea towards a different way of doing politics.

France is in dire need for political renewal. We need political forces that are not stuck in ideological corners but which are being pragmatic about the challenges being faced and who are willing to work together with other political camps outside of extremists to make some of their ideas become reality. As a political movement on European level, Volt stands above the political divide between left and right. We need nuclear energy if we want to lower emissions, but it should be lastest generation reactors instead of unreliable old ones. We need immigration to compensate for a retiring workforce, but it needs to adressed in a humane way and in concertation with our European partners. Volt has consensual positions which it pushes for in 31 Europeean countries. It's time to also change the political system in France.

The European elections in France offer a chance to break the deadlock of our political system. A vote for small political parties that offer different ways of working can be a deciding influence for politics in France for the years to come. Let's vote for new parties in the upcoming european elections such as Volt France to change our political system.