Politics. Bayrou calls for a referendum on proportional representation in legislative elections
The Prime Minister also mentioned his plan for a "democracy bank" and "hopes to present this project before the autumn."
François Bayrou was on the LCI set this Thursday. Photo Sipa / Stéphane Lemouton
François Bayrou proposed on Thursday that the proposal to introduce proportional representation in legislative elections be submitted to a referendum, and said he was also "determined to propose the Bank of Democracy," two of his key concerns.
Promise of 2017"This voting method should be stopped by referendum. It is the French people who must choose," the Prime Minister stated on LCI, recalling that it is the President of the Republic who "chooses" whether or not to hold a referendum.
A promise made by candidate Macron in 2017, the transition from majority voting to proportional representation for MPs is a source of division among government supporters, with LR having made it a casus belli, unlike François Bayrou and his MoDem troops and the vast majority of the Renaissance benches.
At the end of June, the head of government assured that he would present this project to Parliament "at the end of this year," "after we have completed the budget work," which promises to be a perilous test for François Bayrou. The Prime Minister could face new motions of censure, notably from the National Rally, which brought down the previous government.
In this context, could François Bayrou try to gain the support of the National Rally (RN) by introducing proportional representation, ardently demanded by the party with the flame? "This is not a cattle market; I'm not going to trade the survival of the country for this or that change," he retorted on Thursday.
Bank of DemocracyThe Prime Minister also relaunched another of his historic priorities on Thursday, the "democracy bank," designed to finance political parties that are unable to obtain loans from traditional banking institutions.
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According to him, it could be "backed by the Caisse des dépôts et consignations" to "take over the loan that you would otherwise have obtained from private banks."
François Bayrou, who "hopes to present this project before the autumn", sees it as a way to introduce more "justice" into the party financing system, while some parties, starting with the National Rally, are having difficulty obtaining loans for their campaigns.
The RN is also the target of two investigations, conducted in Paris and Marseille, which have brought to light a system of personal loans widely used by the party, due to a lack of access to credit from banks.
4.6% deficit target, Bayrou wants "everyone to participate" in the effort
François Bayrou also assured that his objective was to reduce the deficit to 4.6% by 2026, mentioning "specific efforts here and there."
The deficit is "at 5.8%" of the gross domestic product, "this year we will go to 5.4% and next year, (...) we will go towards 4.6%", he affirmed, emphasizing that "the government will say what the constraints are, the efforts necessary, the decisions to be taken to get out of this death trap", without wanting to reveal its options.
"I want everyone to participate" in the effort to save around 40 billion euros for France's next budget, explained the head of government, saying he did not want "some categories to be targeted and others to be untargeted," but "with an effort of justice that will obviously have to be put in place."
A few days before the presentation of a plan to restore public finances, "there may be specific efforts here and there, but I do not believe that it is through taxes that we resolve problems," François Bayrou also argued, but through the reduction of "public spending."
"If prosperity came from taxes, since we have the highest taxes in the world, we would be the richest in the world," he added, calling for "common sense."
Le Dauphiné libéré
