A fine observer of French political life and a regular contributor to FigaroVox, Maxime Tandonnet notably published
André Tardieu.
The misunderstood
(Perrin, 2019) and
Georges Bidault: from the Resistance to French Algeria
(Perrin, 2022).
To discover
Find all the results of the legislative elections
One of the essential lessons of the first round of the 2022 legislative elections is the confirmation of the fall of the so-called classic, or republican, right.
With 13.62% of the vote, LR and its allies become the fourth political force with the prospect of losing around half of their seats in the National Assembly.
This poor result is not only the direct consequence of the presidential debacle.
The failure of the right is global, affecting both the presidential and legislative elections.
And the quest for scapegoats won't solve anything.
If Valérie Pécresse experienced such a setback in the presidential election, it is undoubtedly, at least in part, because the political movement she represented was no longer in tune with the country.
The right has no chance of getting back up
First, in the context of national and overhyped politics, success is inconceivable without a leader capable of mobilizing troops for the conquest of power.
What would “Together” be without Emmanuel Macron, Nupes without Mélenchon or RN without Marine Le Pen?
And who can claim that the right would have won in 2007 without the leadership of Nicolas Sarkozy?
It was Jean-Luc Mélenchon's stroke of genius to stand as a candidate for the post of Prime Minister – even without illusions.
It remains that the emergence of the "boss" is a complex subject: the latter must at the same time display a profile of firmness to convince his camp and openness to gather beyond.
The right has failed for ten years to identify a leader who is both mobilizing and unifying.
Similarly, the dynamic of unity is a condition of victory in electoral matters.
The left has managed – albeit artificially – to create a united impression.
On the contrary, the right was more divided than ever.
To the usual cleavage with the RN was added the departure of the right-wing fringe of the right-wing electorate towards Éric Zemmour and a series of new opportunistic, even marginal, rallies to the “presidential majority”.
This impression of quartering was devastating.
The right did not see coming the exasperation of the French on the purchasing power and on the vertiginous deterioration of the public services, in particular health and school, whose consequence is dramatic for the daily life of the French.
Maxime Tandonnet
The right must above all relearn how to address the people.
During these presidential and legislative elections, it seems to have lost contact with the country.
No doubt it absolutely had to provide solid and credible responses in terms of security and immigration control.
But she deceived herself by wanting to follow Éric Zemmour on the sterile ground of the debate around the “great replacement”.
Similarly, the issue of public debt is crucial for the future, but it does not win an election.
The right did not see coming the exasperation of the French on the purchasing power and on the vertiginous deterioration of the public services, in particular health and school, whose consequence is dramatic for the daily life of the French.
In 2022, for lack of vision,
The right has finally underestimated the rejection of Macronism by a vast majority of the country.
In the aftermath of the first round, this mistrust is expressed in the miserable score achieved by the said "majority", unprecedented in the history of the Fifth Republic.
The country, while largely re-electing President Macron “by default”, has shown its weariness with a mode of government that consists of drowning the failures, decline and suffering of the Nation under a debauchery of communication.
By supporting the bureaucratic “Absurdistan” policy for two years in the fight against the Covid-19 epidemic, the right gave an impression of submission by abandoning the role of opposition to the left and the RN.
The entire political class emerged defeated from this legislative election.
That more than half of the electorate abstained in the first round of such an important election is a democratic tragedy.
That a presidential coalition unites just over 12.5% of voters is a scathing disavowal.
Another lesson from this election is the extreme volatility of the electorate.
Six months earlier, observers were almost unanimous in taking note of “the death of the left”.
But here it is suddenly back, bringing with it the left-right divide that Macronism thought it had buried.
For five years the experts have been unanimous in asserting that “France has never been so right”.
But the right comes out crushed, rolled from the national elections and it is the left or assimilated that triumphs.
The key to success will be to find the way back to the 52.5% of abstentionists through indifference, depoliticization and disgust.
Maxime Tandonnet
Faced with an Assembly whose overwhelming majority will indeed come from the left – President Macron comes from the same socialist party as Mr. Mélenchon –, in a political and social context that promises to be extremely chaotic and violent, the right can tomorrow to appeal.
The key to success will be to find the way back to the 52.5% of abstentionists through indifference, depoliticization and disgust.
Thus, the right must not only speak of its own refoundation, but of the refoundation of French democracy.
A system by which it is enough to gather 12.5% of the voters to obtain an absolute majority (even uncertain at this stage) and full powers is not only absurd but inept.
It is the responsibility of the right to raise this question and provide answers.
After decades of growing distrust of public speech, linked to a succession of failures, broken promises and affairs on all sides, he will have to convince that politics can be an exemplary, sincere and disinterested commitment to serving society. truth, of France and of the French, and in the intangible respect of the people, rather than a vulgar spectacle of illusionism.
In this respect, the number of deputies matters little: history constantly reminds us that it only takes a handful of determined men and women to show a sense of honour.
