La démocratie représentative est-elle en crise ? - Decod'actu

Discover the other episodes at 👉 https://bit.ly/decod_actu Subscribe! 👉 http://bit.ly/2QLeh5V Since November 2018, the same cry has been echoing through the streets of the country: "Resignation." Beyond the President of the Republic, an entire political system is being called into question. Citizens are demanding accountability from a ruling class with which they no longer identify. What if our representative system is in crisis? Influenced by the philosophy of the Enlightenment, the representative system emerged in the second half of the 18th century. The idea was quite revolutionary: to create a political system in which the will of the citizens is expressed through representatives who pass laws and enforce them. Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès in France and John Adams in the United States were its great advocates. They opposed the direct democracy of Rousseau and Robespierre. Why? Because "the vast majority of our fellow citizens have neither enough education nor enough leisure time to want to concern themselves directly with the laws that should govern France; they must therefore limit themselves to appointing their own representatives," declared Sieyès. His influence would be immense. The representative system would become the norm in France and then in the rest of the world's democracies. The principle of the representative system in France is still enshrined in the French Constitution, Article 3, paragraph 1: "National sovereignty belongs to the people, who exercise it through their representatives and by means of referendum." Except that today, this system seems to have run out of steam. We are witnessing a distrust of politicians, very well illustrated by the Yellow Vests. And more generally, a disinterest in politics and elections. Abstention reached 57.36% in the legislative elections of June 18, 2017. A historic record for the Fifth Republic. For many, this distrust is due to a representative system increasingly disconnected from the people. In 1946, workers represented 12.5% of elected representatives in the National Assembly. In 2017, there were none left, even though they still represent 20% of society. Conversely, the National Assembly has 97 private sector executives, 82 civil servants, 73 professional politicians, 50 business leaders, and 104 professionals. The same is true regarding diversity. 35 members of parliament from diverse backgrounds were elected. This represents 6.35% of the Assembly, while an estimated 23% of the population in France is of foreign origin. Added to this is the fact that citizens have no power to control their elected representatives outside of elections. The feeling of democratic dispossession is strong in France. Experts propose several solutions to address this. For example, the implementation of proportional representation for legislative elections. This would allow different parties to be represented based on their overall national score. Sociological studies show that this would boost turnout. Another solution: the implementation of increased and continuous oversight of government actions, outside of election periods. For example, with the citizen-initiated referendum (RIC), which is favored by the Yellow Vests and a large majority of French people. These are solutions that could put citizens back at the heart of democracy. Follow Lumni on: Facebook ▶   / lumnifr   Twitter ▶   / lumni.fr   Instagram ▶   / lumnifr   Lumni.fr ▶ https://www.lumni.fr #Lumni #Democracy #YellowVests #Enlightenment #Rousseau #RIC