“A problem of majority, not a fault of method”

When one points to the moon, the fool looks at the finger. Faced with the political crisis caused by the pension reform, there is a great temptation to look at the 49.3. In other words, to attribute this crisis to a fault of method. Macron should have done it differently, some say: risk going to the vote, not going through a budget text limiting the duration of its examination, etc. Criticizing the method allows beautiful lyrical flights on the “passage in force”, the “denial of democracy”, “the insult made to Parliament”, but the basic problem is elsewhere. He is in the absence of an absolute majority within the Assembly elected on June 19th. If there had been only one handling error on Thursday, we could have spoken of an accident. But it is the basic framework that is flawed and it is difficult to see now how the executive can escape a downward spiral.

On the evening of the legislative elections, this unprecedented Hemicycle had been welcomed with surprise, but also with a kind of greedy curiosity…