Important but also highly symbolic positions.
The election of two vice-presidents from the National Rally on Wednesday in the Assembly turned into controversy and a skirmish between the main parties.
Explanations.
What happened ?
After the election of Yaël Braun-Pivet (LREM) on Tuesday, the election, the next day, of the office of the Assembly should have been a formality.
Traditionally, the presidents of the various political groups of the National Assembly agree on the composition of the office of the lower house, according to a system by points according to the number of elected officials obtained during the legislative elections and the positions to be filled.
This office is made up of six vice-presidents, three quaestors and twelve secretaries.
But instead of a consensual agreement, this election gave rise to a series of passes of arms, like a taste of the games to come in an Assembly without an absolute majority.
Indeed, just before the session, the environmentalists broke a draft agreement found in the morning, which notably provided for two vice-presidencies at the RN and a post of quaestor for Éric Ciotti (LR) to provoke a vote.
Vote which finally confirmed the election of two RN vice-presidents, Sébastien Chenu and Hélène Laporte.
The challenge ?
The six vice-presidents of the Assembly ensure in turn, with the holder of the perch, the presidency of the meetings.
The three quaestors, traditionally two from the majority and one from the opposition, hold the purse strings of the institution.
Enough to arouse both political and financial appetites, with bonuses being awarded in particular to the holders of these various positions.
What consequences?
The objective of Julien Bayou's party was clear: to demonstrate that “Renaissance votes for the RN rather than for environmentalists.
“LREM called to vote for the National Front.
The masks are falling, ”denounced Julien Bayou, co-president of the environmental group to the press.
"Shame to see colleagues who claim to be Republicans slipping an RN ballot into the ballot box," said socialist Arthur Delaporte.
“Tamboouille”, “denial of democracy”, Mathilde Panot (LFI) like others denounced this draft agreement which according to them marginalized the left in favor of the far right.
Adrien Quatennens (LFI) for example denounced a “de facto alliance” and “an agreement between the RN, LREM and LR to exclude Nupes”.
The president of the LR deputies Olivier Marleix reprimanded these weak-willed left-wing elected officials.
“Mr. Bayou would almost like certain representatives (the RNs) not to have the right to sit in the hemicycle.
This is not my conception of democracy”.
Same story on the side of the presidential majority which could have, in the event of a vote until the third round, won more vice-presidential positions, since in this round, the relative majority then makes it possible to be elected (and no longer the absolute majority of voters).
The leader of the LREM deputies Aurore Bergé thus defended the importance that “all sensitivities” can be represented in the office.
This is "in line with the democratic choices of the French" in the legislative elections, also believes the boss of the MoDem deputies Jean-Paul Mattei, in a joint press release from the majority.
But this has involved members of the majority voting for far-right candidates in secret ballots.
Two vice-presidents from Nupes, Valérie Rabault (367 votes, PS) Caroline Fiat (297 votes, LFI) are however ultimately part of the college of six vice-presidents.
For her part, Marine Le Pen, president of the RN group, denounced "infinite bad faith" of "the far left", which "did not want all political forces to be represented to their fair measure".
With this tacit agreement, the RN recovered a post of vice-president in exchange for maintaining Éric Ciotti at the questure for Les Républicains.
This made a collateral victim in their own ranks.
Annie Genevard, outgoing vice-president, regretted not having been able to apply, and considered that "arithmetic has a good back" and that "the majority is alone against Nupes and the RN", since LR did not obtain than a post of quaestor.
What analysis can we make of this parliamentary episode?
“There was indeed theater to make clear the arrangements made behind the scenes.
La Nupes wanted to dramatize the issues, ”explains Philippe Moreau-Chevrolet, teacher at Sciences-po.
For observers, this vote has above all marked the end of a doctrine, more than thirty years old: the republican front.
"It's historic, for the first time, there was a vote of moderate political forces for the RN", confides the researcher again.
“In Germany, the political forces of government have organized themselves so as not to leave any responsibility to the extreme right.
In France, we made a different choice, analyzes the professor of political science.
We are more on the Italian mode where the extreme right has been part of the equation for a long time”.
What should we conclude from this?
"We have changed the political universe and perhaps the far right has integrated the sphere of the government parties", concludes Philippe Moreau-Chevrolet.