It’s an adjective that provokes a lot of reaction as the first round of the legislative elections approaches, Sunday June 30. Can we imagine cohabitation, in the event of a victory for the National Rally, between Jordan Bardella at Matignon and Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée? Marine Le Pen explained in the columns of Telegram that the title of “chief of the armies”, guaranteed to the President of the Republic by the Constitution, was an “honorary” title, since, she said, it is the Prime Minister who holds the purse strings. The term “honorary” does not imply real power, this declaration caused an outcry in the ranks of the presidential camp.
Marine Le Pen nevertheless sticks here to a strict reading of the Constitution, as she pointed out. Because, if under the Fifth Republic, in practice, defense and diplomacy are in the hands of the head of state, in the Constitution, it is the government which has the administration and the armed force, and the Prime minister who is responsible for national defense, according to articles 20 and 21. This is why Jordan Bardella relies on “the entire Constitution, nothing but the Constitution”.
Concerning the sending of troops, on the other hand, contrary to what Marine Le Pen asserts, article 15 of the Constitution stipulates that the head of state, in his capacity as head of the armies, can order the engagement of troops. armed forces abroad. However, it is up to Parliament to authorize, or not, the extension of the intervention beyond four months.
Moreover, during the last three cohabitations of the Fifth Republic, the president was able to retain broad powers in matters of defense and international politics, in the name of an interpretation of the Constitution, a domain reserved for the head of state. But it’s “going to be confrontational”, anticipates an RN framework. Marine Le Pen is establishing the idea of very harsh cohabitation.
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