French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday opened a new consultative committee of politicians, business leaders and civil society to advise on a range of issues. Designed to reboot democratic processes, the "CNR" has been shunned by opposition MPs and several trade unions who say it bypasses the role of the parliament.
Macron on Thursday kicked off a "broad national consultation" known as the “Conseil National de la Renfondation” (CNR) on issues ranging from education and climate change to euthanasia, some of which could eventually be put up for referendum.
"In the coming weeks, we're going to change schools, health, thanks to these exchanges across our territories, by building these road maps. So yes, it could lead to referendums," Macron said in the southern Paris suburb of Marcoussis, home to the French rugby team’s training grounds.
Macron said a website would be set up where voters could have their say on "crucial choices" part of his promise to make citizens feel more involved in his government.
The President had announced the plans for the "national refoundation council" ahead of parliamentary elections last June, when his centrist party lost its absolute majority in the National Assembly.
'Revitalise our democracy'
But opposition parties and several major unions boycotted the opening of the council labelling it as a way for the president to circumvent Parliament and regain control in public debate.
The President of the Senate, Gérard Larcher, refused to come, recalling that "representative democracy" is Parliament, and that there is already a "civil society forum" with the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (Cesa).
Alexis Corbière of the hard-left France Unbowed party called it a "mess" aimed at "getting around parliament," while far-right leader Marine Le Pen denounced a "gimmick."
Socialist leader Olivier Faure labelled it as having "no interest".
"52 people representing political forces, trade unions and elected officials have been invited, forty are there. The 12 who are not there are wrong (...) and must not complain afterwards that they have not been consulted, or that it's too vertical", Macron declared ahead of the opening, insisting that "the door will always be open."
"Today we must invent something new, a new way of debating. Not a new institution," the head of state said on Wednesday.
No time for 'sulking'
On the agenda, a series of short presentations by the President of the High Council for the Climate, Corinne Le Quéré, the First President of the Court of Auditors, Pierre Moscovici and of the Governor of the Banque de France, François Villeroy de Galhau.
This was followed by discussions with the participants, among them representatives of the main associations of elected officials, leaders of NGOs and a dozen ministers.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne also chaired a meeting to determine the projects and establish their implementation over time.
Among the 50 participants the boss of the CFDT Laurent Berger, who said trade unions didn’t have the option of "sulking" and sitting out of the debate.
"Either we decide to stuff it up, or we sit around the table and take the problems one after the other," he summed up, insisting that he would question Emmanuel Macron on his "method", stressing that actions would speak louder than words.
One of the key issues trade unions are concerned about is reforms to the country's pension scheme. Macron's attempts to push the retirement age from 62 to 65 have been systematically met with street protests, strikes and criticism, even from partisans on the right of the political spectrum.
When asked about this, Berger reaffirmed his opposition to a postponement of the legal retirement age.
"It's no now and it will always be no (...) Putting oil on the fire with the pension reform would be crazy," he said.
Top down governance
Since being elected in 2017, Macron has often been accused by critics of an imperious, top-down style of governing, a sentiment that helped fuel the violent "yellow vest" protests of 2018 and 2019.
He has since promised a more inclusive administration, and the refoundation council comes after a series of "grand debates" with voters and local officials in recent years.
Olivier Marleix, an MP with the Republicans (LR) in parliament told RFI the president needed to respect the institutions already in place.
"The fact that Macron was not elected with a majority is not a coincidence. Yes, the French people voted for him but he now needs to sit up and listen to the deputies elected by the people".
Loïc Blondiaux, professor of political science at the Panthéon-Sorbonne University suggests the reticence to the CNR is because of the "broken promises" from past consultation exercises in the form of "Great Debate" and the Citizen's Convention for the Climate.
"These two previous experiments were perceived retrospectively rightly or wrongly, as simple communication exercises that did not lead to any tangible results” he explained to AFP.
On the ruling party side, former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said the proposal to hold referendums would surely quell doubts over the efficiency of the CNR.
The Elysée has said the CNR is expected to get off to a quick start, with the first projects, on school and health operational "in 2023".
The monitoring of the work has been entrusted to the High Commissioner for Planning, François Bayrou, who has already conceded that the task promises to be "very difficult".
