François Rebsamen created, with other elected socialists,
the Progressive Federation to support Emmanuel Macron in early April.
After his victory for the latter in the second round of the presidential election, the mayor of Dijon calls for "reviving the institutions", notably by advancing towards a "proportional ballot in the legislative elections".
In 2017, Emmanuel Macron won with 66% of the vote.
Admittedly, he was re-elected, but with a much lower score of 58.8%…
FRANCOIS REBSAMEN.
At first I feel relief.
He was widely re-elected and it was a great democratic victory against the far right, against a clan.
And this is good news for France, Europe and, I don't forget, for Ukraine.
Personally, I am satisfied to have made this campaign.
In my city, in Dijon, 70% of voters voted Macron.
What lessons do you draw from this result?
Over the presidential elections, the far right recorded increasing scores.
We are witnessing a trivialization of Marine Le Pen, particularly in rural areas where it is making a breakthrough.
Marine Le Pen is now part of the political landscape.
However, she carries the ideas of her father.
However, we must hear this democratic malaise.
Abstention is gaining ground.
It is time to revitalize our institutions.
I will be very attentive to this subject on which Emmanuel Macron seems to have decided to act.
What do you recommend?
It is absolutely necessary to move towards a proportional vote in the legislative elections.
We cannot imagine that a political force obtains more than 40% of the votes and has only a handful of deputies in the Assembly, as is the case with the National Rally, otherwise the opposition expresses itself violently in the street.
Read also Is Emmanuel Macron the “most poorly elected president of the Fifth Republic”, as Mélenchon said?
Extreme parties that score high in both rounds, record abstention… Will Emmanuel Macron be able to govern such a divided country?
The president cannot run for a third time under constitutional rules.
This is the last time he can reform and this should free him to make reforms in the general interest of the French people.
It is urgent to act against global warming, to support purchasing power, to help the most modest with solidarity at the source.
I know that he will also take into account the mayors in his action.
It is now essential to break the infernal machine of verticality and break with clientelism in rural areas.
Will the left leg of macronie, of which you are a part, weigh more in the next five years?
I hope for a rebalancing.
Emmanuel Macron said during the campaign that we had to walk on both legs.
Social democracy, which is not far-left radicalism, exists strongly at the local level.
The Head of State will have to listen to this sensitivity which demands more social justice, institutional changes and climate action.
We will be more numerous to come from the left to carry this speech.
Emmanuel Macron will be able to take into account certain measures to which we are attached, such as the indexation of pensions to inflation or the employee dividend.
You formed the Progressive Federation with other elected officials from the PS.
Can you imagine this collective melting tomorrow into a large macronist party, as the president seems to be calling for?
If he founds this great democratic party, he will have to take into account the currents of thought that exist, as was done at the time of the Épinay
congress (socialist unification congress in 1971 which led to the appointment of François Mitterrand as first secretary)
.
The Social Democrats will have to have the opportunity to express themselves and make their voices heard.