French President Emmanuel Macron told his government Wednesday he was considering referendums to pass legislation and break the political deadlock caused by the country’s hung parliament, several sources told AFP.
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Macron told cabinet members he would hold talks with all rival political leaders next week with a view to drawing up “draft legislation but also referendums”, the sources said on condition of anonymity, without giving further details.
The 45-year-old leader announced in early August that he was planning a “major political initiative” after his summer holidays.
The government has succeeded in negotiating some new laws with the support of opposition parties, but Macron’s flagship pension reform earlier this year had to be rammed through using emergency executive powers — outraging many voters.
Macron, who likes to claim reforming France is part of his political DNA, is desperate to relaunch his second and final term in office, which has been bogged down following his failure to secure a majority in parliamentary elections in June 2022.
Rumours about referendums have swirled before during his six years in power, notably after the so-called “Yellow Vest” anti-government protests in 2018-2019 when the centrist wanted to reduce the number of national lawmakers.
Under France’s fifth republic, which began in 1958, the president is able to call national referendums, but the power has been used only nine times since then.
It was last invoked in 2005 for a referendum on a new European constitution, which the government of then president Jacques Chirac lost in a shock setback.
Lack of support
Talks next week will see Macron convene all the leaders of opposition political parties, including Marine Le Pen from the far-right National Rally — with whom the president has previously refused to negotiate.
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