A New Dawn or the Calm After the Storm?
- Marcel Courteau
- Jun 29, 2024
- 7 min read
The ABC of the 2024 Legislative Elections in France.
Will Macron have to cohabit with a parliament dominated by the far right? Can the left stage an unexpected comeback? Are there concerns about new voters? Will all the disillusioned French citizens go to the polls? Abstention increases with each election, often attributed to a mix of prejudice and a lack of interest in politics.
Just one day before the first round, France stands at a historic crossroads, with the political future of the country shrouded in tension and anticipation.
IPSOS polls reveal a troubling outlook: the Rassemblement National (RN), led by Jordan Bardella, appears poised to solidify its recent European success with 35.5% of the vote intention.
In a context of strong mobilization, the June 30 vote seems destined to redefine the French political landscape. This year's unprecedented legislative elections have generated massive interest, mixed with confusion, fear, and hope.
Meanwhile, the left, united around the New Popular Front (NFP) and the ecologists, struggles to stay relevant with a projected 29.5% of the vote. Emmanuel Macron's presidential coalition, weakened and in decline, faces a challenging 19.5%, raising serious doubts about its political future.
The New Popular Front brings together various French left-wing parties, including The Ecologists, the French Communist Party, the Socialist Party, Place Publique, Génération-s, Republican and Socialist Left, the New Anticapitalist Party, Ecosocialist Left, and, of course, La France Insoumise, led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, one of the most influential forces.
The ruling coalition, Ensemble pour la République, is composed of Renaissance, the center-right party founded by Emmanuel Macron; MODEM, also center-right; and Horizons, created in 2021 by former Macronist Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who is already positioning himself as a presidential candidate for 2027.
While the RN (Rassemblement National) appears as the dominant bloc, the left and the ecologists strive to regain ground, and the remnants of the republican right barely stay afloat.
Citizens are called to choose between continuity and drastic change. Will Jordan Bardella, with his RN, herald the beginning of a new era, or can the left's NFP regain the momentum needed to challenge the status quo? Against the backdrop of unprecedented mobilization, France's future hangs in the balance in an election that promises to be as unpredictable as it is significant.
Proposals from the June 25th Debate
The televised debate on June 25th brought together three prominent figures in French politics: Gabriel Attal (La République En Marche!), Jordan Bardella (Rassémblement National), and Manuel Bompard (La France Insoumise). This event was crucial for voters to understand the proposals and positions of the main parties. Here are the key conclusions:
1. Gabriel Attal (La République En Marche!):
Education and Secularism: Advocate for a school system focused on fundamental knowledge and strict adherence to secularism, including the prohibition of wearing the abaya in educational institutions. The abaya is a traditional garment in some predominantly Muslim countries, a long, loose robe worn primarily by women. This measure aims to reinforce secularism in schools, avoiding the display of visible religious symbols.
Purchasing Power: Propose a plan to increase wages and reduce expenses, annually adjusting pensions with inflation, and cutting electricity bills by 15%.
Taxation: Avoid tax increases and reduce taxes on home purchases and donations.
Pensions: Reject the repeal of the current pension reform but improve employment opportunities for seniors.
Ecological Transition: Invest in energy renovation and the acquisition of electric vehicles with measures like social leasing for electric vehicles at less than 100 euros per month.
2. Jordan Bardella (Rassémblement National):
VAT Reduction: Propose reducing the current VAT from 20% to 5.5% on energy and fuels.
Pensions: Promise retirement at 60 for long careers and a pivot age of 62 with 42 annuities.
Immigration: End birthright citizenship and drastically reduce migration flows.
Security: Strengthen security by increasing resources for the police and taking strict measures against illegal immigration.
Taxation: Propose a "tax peace" without increasing taxes and announce an audit of the state’s accounts.
3. Manuel Bompard (La France Insoumise):
Pensions: Repeal the pension reform raising the retirement age to 64 and revert to retirement at 60 with 40 annuities.
Price Control: Propose price controls on energy and essential goods.
Taxation: Introduce a progressive tax reform increasing taxes on the wealthy and easing the tax burden on middle and lower-income classes.
Ecological Transition: Invest massively in thermal renovation of housing and ban new combustion engine cars by 2035.
Equality and Social Justice: Implement measures to ensure free education and combat educational inequalities by providing free books and school materials.
Portraits : Gabriel Attal
Gabriel Attal, born on March 16, 1989, in Clamart, France, has emerged as a prominent and transformative figure in French politics. Since January 9, 2024, Attal has served as the Prime Minister of France, becoming the youngest person and the first openly homosexual individual to hold this position in the country's history. He belongs to the Renaissance political party, formerly known as La République en Marche, led by President Emmanuel Macron.
Attal comes from a family with a rich cultural diversity. His father, a lawyer and film producer, is of Tunisian Jewish descent, while his mother, an employee in a production company, has Russian roots from Odessa and Greek heritage. Raised in Paris, Gabriel attended the prestigious Alsacian School before enrolling at the Institute of Political Studies of Paris (Sciences Po), where he began his political activism with the Socialist Party. He furthered his academic training with a law degree from Panthéon-Assas University.
His career began as an advisor to Marisol Touraine, Minister of Social Affairs and Health in François Hollande's government, where he gained valuable experience in policy formulation and management of complex public health issues.
He joined La République En Marche! (LREM) at its inception and was elected deputy for the tenth constituency of Hauts-de-Seine in the 2017 legislative elections. In the National Assembly, he stood out for his work on education and youth-related issues. In 2018, he was appointed Secretary of State at the Ministry of National Education and Youth, and in 2020, he became the spokesperson for Macron's government.
Jordan Bardella
Jordan Bardella, born in 1995 in Saint Denis, has surprised many with his rapid rise within the Rassemblement National (RN). His childhood was split between his mother’s apartment in Saint Denis and his father’s home in Montmorency, a more affluent town. His father, who runs a beverage distribution company, provided Bardella with a certain level of material comfort, funding trips and purchasing a car and an apartment for him.
From a young age, Bardella showed a keen interest in politics. He left university to fully dedicate himself to this field and quickly climbed the ranks within the party. He served as a regional councilor, spokesperson, vice president of the RN, and head of the list in the 2019 European elections. His relationship with Nolwenn Olivier, daughter of Marie-Caroline Le Pen, has also strengthened his ties with the Le Pen family. Consequently, Marine Le Pen is, de facto, Bardella’s political aunt. Despite Bardella being the first president of the party who is not a member of the Le Pen family, Marine Le Pen remains an influential figure as the head of the RN group in the National Assembly, while preparing her presidential candidacy for 2027.
At the age of 23, Bardella led the RN to a significant victory in the European elections, solidifying his position within the party. In 2022, he succeeded Marine Le Pen as the president of the RN after defeating his competitor, Louis Aliot, in the party congress.
When Marine Le Pen took over the party leadership in 2011, she began a process of "de-demonization" to distance the RN from its controversial past and reposition it as a populist and nationalist right-wing party. Jordan Bardella continues this strategy, aiming to attract a younger and more diverse electorate while maintaining the RN’s traditional stances on security and national identity.
Under his leadership, the RN doubled the votes of their opponents in the June 2024 European elections, leading to early legislative elections.
Manuel Bompard
Manuel Bompard, born on March 30, 1986, in Firminy, Loire, is a prominent French politician representing the fourth constituency of the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the National Assembly since 2022. A member of La France Insoumise (FI), Bompard also served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2019 to 2022.
Bompard grew up in Drôme in a family where his father transitioned from being a computer scientist to a farmer, and his mother worked in the public housing sector. His academic background is impressive, having graduated from ENSIMAG engineering school in Grenoble and earning a doctorate in applied mathematics for aeronautics from the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis in 2011. Before embarking on his political career, he worked at a startup specializing in machine learning in Ramonville-Saint-Agne, Haute-Garonne.
He joined the Left Party upon its creation in 2009 and quickly rose to the position of national secretary in 2010. In 2012, he joined Jean-Luc Mélenchon's presidential campaign team. In 2015, Bompard ran as the Left Party candidate in the departmental elections in Haute-Garonne's Toulouse-5 canton, where he finished in third place.
In the 2017 legislative elections, Bompard was the La France Insoumise candidate in the ninth constituency of Haute-Garonne but was defeated in the second round by Sandrine Mörch of La République En Marche!. In July 2018, he left the leadership of the Left Party to focus on his role as spokesperson for La France Insoumise and the European campaign. In the 2019 European Parliament elections, he secured the second spot on the La France Insoumise candidate list.
With a career marked by dedication and rapid advancement, Manuel Bompard has established himself as a key figure in contemporary French politics, committed to the ideals of social justice and progressive transformation.
The proposals from the June 25th debate provide a comprehensive overview of the trajectories and strategies of the main actors in the legislative elections.
Tomorrow, French voters will have the opportunity to decide the future direction of the country. As Winston Churchill once said, "The price of greatness is responsibility." At this crucial moment, the fate of France rests in the hands of its citizens. With each vote, the French are not only choosing their representatives but also shaping the path toward the future, demonstrating that true greatness lies in the people's will to forge their own destiny.
Comments