‘France needs compromise’ says MP from Macron’s party

Ciaran Jenkins: So it looks like Prime Minister Barnier could be toast, the government could collapse and France could fall into a full blown crisis this week?
Éléonore Caroit: Well, I have to admit, you’re right. That’s a scenario that is totally possible. What happened this afternoon is that the government decided to use Article 49.3 of the Constitution to pass a bill, a budget bill on social security, without a vote of the parliament. But then it also puts the responsibility of its government on the table. And censorship is very likely to happen – as the far-right and the left have said that they would vote together to overturn the government.
Ciaran Jenkins: And this has happened, hasn’t it, because the left-wing alliance that won the recent elections, they felt that President Macron should appoint a left-wing prime minister. He didn’t – he appointed a right of centre prime minister instead. And now he’s a hostage to fortune, isn’t he? They’re going to bring the government down.
Éléonore Caroit: Well, that’s what they’re saying now to justify their behaviour. But the truth is – these snap elections occurred after we had months of political uncertainty because there wasn’t a majority for President Macron. The result of the snap election was a parliament that is more divided than it ever has been. We have 11 parties at the French National Assembly and the left, although they were far from having a majority, they were more than a hundred seats far from it, said, ‘well, we need to have a left-wing prime minister to apply our programme and nothing but our programme.’ Well, the truth is that was impossible and, in any event, it would have fallen anyways. So what is happening now is that we’re learning the hard way how to make compromises and how to build a coalition. And I hope the next government, because we’re going to be in a similar situation, whomever the next prime minister will be, and..
Ciaran Jenkins: Sorry for coming in here, but shouldn’t it now be somebody from the left-wing alliance, because they did win the election?
Éléonore Caroit: Look, it could be. And the truth is, among several candidates that were contemplated – people from the left-wing were also contemplated. But it is not enough to have someone from the left that doesn’t have the support of the centre and of the right. So in any event, what this teaches us as a country, is a lesson that we need to build compromises in the political configuration we have right now – which is very different from what we’re used to.
Ciaran Jenkins: And doesn’t this very briefly just play into the hands of both the left and the far-right? They say traditional politics isn’t working. And lo and behold, look what we’ve seen.
Éléonore Caroit: What we see is that they’re having very irresponsible behaviour because obviously when you don’t have a clear majority, the budget that is going to come out makes compromises. There are things that come – proposals that come – from the left, like for instance, taxes on aeroplane tickets, the tax on financial transactions. You have things that come from the right, you have different things in this budget. No one is fully happy, but no one should be unhappy to point out that they’re going to overturn the government.