The Weekly Dispatch is your weekly summary of the major events taking place in French politics, published on Sundays in order to give you the perfect way to catch up with French news and events.

Polling Update

For this polling update, The French Dispatch takes a historical turn and looks at one of the most important polls from one of the most crucial events in French history: when Algeria voted for its independence and took its destiny into its own hands.

The Algerian War of Independence, which lasted from 1 November 1954 until 19 March 1962, was a momentous event in French history that caused the collapse of the Fourth French Republic (which had existed since 1946), leading to the creation of the current Fifth French Republic by Charles de Gaulle, and was also the event that brought a definitive end to the French Colonial empire.

The result of a brutal conquest, Algeria was the only French overseas territory that was considered an integral part of the French state as a part of Metropolitan France, and was therefore the subject of many efforts to align it with France. However, with the ongoing resistance to French rule, combined with the loss of French Indochina, the French state took a more aggressive position when nationalistic sentiments and independence movements took off in Algeria, particularly when hostilities began.

This period was filled with atrocities that my country should and does apologise for profusely. Further to this, it was an intense time in France and Algerian history, with several assassination attempts to Generale de Gaulle, counter movements within French society that saw the beginnings of what is now known as the Rassemblement National, a putsch to bring an end to negotiations with the FLN (the Algerian Front de Libération Nationale), and the need for France to reposition itself in the world.

I would fully recommend reading into this historical event in whatever way you can, as a lot of what took place then still has an effect on modern France. Of course, if you would like a special edition or two of The French Dispatch covering this, then please comment below and let me know, I would be more than happy to oblige.

Boris Johnson is Done…or is he?

A potentially huge event took place this week, with British Prime Minister “resigning” (I’ll believe it when I see it), and triggering a leadership election for the position of Conservative party leader and Prime Minister of the UK.

If you want to read up on the proceedings that could change the trajectory of Franco-British and EU-UK relations, check out the article below, and of course, let me know what you think!

The French Dispatch

The Ignominious End of Boris Johnson

The French Dispatch crosses the English channel with a long read on events in the UK, where Boris Johnson Premiership lies in tatters, and where events could have a serious impact on European politics in the wider context…

Read more

9 months ago · 2 likes · Julien Hoez

Censure Motion against Borne

They made a promise, and they kept it.

The NUPES Coalition, led by La France Insoumise, started the process of a vote of censure to Elizabeth Borne’s government in the Assemblee National this week in a move that gives us an idea of what to expect from the next five years of this parliament.

For those of you who don’t know, according to the constitution of 4 October 1958, a vote of censure would oblige the Prime Minister to present the resignation of the government to the President of the Republic.

Having hoped to topple the government with the support of other opposition parties, particularly if Borne had submitted her government to a vote of confidence, LFI instead opted for the aggressive act of censuring the government and attempting to force the government out by pressing on the nuclear button.

"In the absence of a vote of confidence...we have no choice but to submit this motion of no confidence"

Expected to be debated and voted upon on Monday 11 July, the move is, unfortunately for the left, unlikely to lead to anything, as neither the Rassemblement National nor Les Republicains are supporting it.

Needing 289 MPs to vote for it, NUPES only have 151 MPs. If the RN (89) and LR (62) chose to support it, they could very easily topple the government with a total of 302 MPs.

However, the right wing parties have chosen instead to ignore this political gambit, either out of necessity, sheer self-interest, or out of a desire to not work with the far-left coalition and to focus on right-wing initiatives that strengthen their positions and not those of their opposition.

Regardless, the Borne government will likely live to fight another day, the position of Mélenchon’s team will be eroded, and we all get a taste of what to expect for the months and years to come.

EDF to be Renationalised

There was more big news this week, when the Prime Minister announced that the French State was planning to renationalise EDF (Électricité de France) during her big general political speech in front of the Assemblée National.

Coming just three hours after the European Parliament voted to accept nuclear energy and gas within the EUs green taxonomy, Borne announced the following statement to thunderous applause from the Parliament.

“I confirm to you today the intention of the State to hold 100% of EDF’s capital…[France must] ensure [its] sovereignty in the face of the consequences of war and the colossal challenges ahead”

She then outlined exactly what the French state plans to do, highlighting that her government would “invest in nuclear power with the construction of new reactors and innovations for the nuclear power of the future.”

While many decry nuclear as a dangerous energy and an environmentally unfriendly one, the science tends to disagree with this, and this is what Borne underlined herself stating that nuclear “is a decarbonised, sovereign and competitive energy”

“Succeeding in the energy transition means controlling it”

The French state currently owns roughly 84% of EDF, and would therefore need to start looking into options for how it can purchase the remaining 16%, but it is likely to seek support from banks to underwrite the purchase with state loans.

However, as the move will likely be a medium-to-long-term project, Borne further outlined several energy related policies to help ease the burden on the French population,

Expect a summary of her speech to come in the near future!

LaREM Prepares Its Relaunch

Big news has been coming in on the party front, with the announcement of upcoming plans to transform La République en Marche.

In an interview for Le Figaro, Renaissance Européenne MEP Stéphane Séjourné, who is also president of the Renew Europe group in the European Parliament, spoke about the mission he had been given by the president of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron.

“The President of the Republic asked me to reinvent a new party”

Currently a candidate to be the leader of the new Renaissance party in France, he talked about the need to “review the principles that have forged our political commitment for five years", and above all else, "rediscover the spirit of conquest of 2017, the taste for risk, political overcoming, the field".

Tackling one of the criticisms of the party being too centralised, he also called for a renewed "confidence in militant action”, indicating a renewed focus on the militants and their autonomy. We will have to keep an eye out for next the party’s next steps in the new future.

With a vote on the party constitution coming in soon, you’ll get plenty of updates on how this new party will take shape, what the form of the LaREM family will be with both Renaissance (France) and Renaissance Européenne under the same umbrella, and where exactly this could take us in the next two years leading up to the European Parliament elections.

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