On June 23, French President Emmanuel Macron published an open letter to the French people, and Olivier Faure, the first secretary of the French Left Socialist Party (PS), believed that this move was suspected of violating the election law.
Macron's "allegedly illegal" practices
On June 23, Macron published an open letter of about 1,300 words through the local newspapers le Parisien, Ouest-France, Sud-Ouest, and La Provence, explaining to the French the rationale for the dissolution of the National Assembly, describing the consequences of the victory of the far-left and far-right, and calling on the French to explain the rationale for the dissolution of the National Assembly, describe the consequences of the victory of the far-left and far-right, and call on the French to Support for the ruling party continued in the new National Assembly elections on 7 July.
Macron's open letter. (Image source: Screenshot of the report of Le Parisien)
The first secretary of the Socialist Party accused Macron
In response to the open letter, Olivier Faure, first secretary of the Left Socialist Party (PS), said that Macron violated the electoral law by issuing an open letter to supporters in the name of the president.
Faure also asked how much money was paid to publish the open letter.
Precedent of 1978
But there's nothing particularly surprising about that, as Bruno Daugeron, a professor of public law at the Université Paris Cité, said that in such elections, every French president would clearly express his preferences.
For example, in the 1978 National Assembly elections, then-French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing made it clear in his speech that he called on voters to "make the right choice for France" and avoid "co-governance" with the left.
From 1974 to 1981, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing held the presidency of France. (Photo: AFP)
French electoral law
Illegal use of election propaganda funds?
First, according to France's 1990 law on the limitation of electoral expenditures, "legal entities under public law" are prohibited, for example, the State is prohibited from being responsible for the expenses of a party's election propaganda. In other words, Macron cannot ask the Élysée Palace to pay for the propaganda of his party's candidates in the National Assembly elections, but can ask his party to bear them.
In addition, Macron cannot yet rely on the "resources" of the Élysée Palace. Romain Rambaud, associate professor of public law at the Université Grenoble-Alpes and an expert in electoral law, believes that "if the Élysée Palace was directly involved in the preparation of the open letter, it would be illegal, but it would be almost impossible to prove".
The president can't interfere in the election?
Secondly, Macron cannot write and publish an open letter in his capacity as president, as shown in an open letter published by local French media (the original version of the document can be consulted through Dauphiné Libéré), Macron only mentions "President of the Republic" in the title, but the Elysee Palace logo does not appear in the letter, the letter is signed only by Macron's name, does not mention his position, and the open letter is not published on the Elysee Palace website.
Alexandra Aderno, a French election lawyer, said the evidence showed that the open letter was signed by Macron himself, not an official letter on the letterhead of the Élysée Palace. If Macron himself wants to, he can call on voters to vote for the ruling party. Sophie Briante-Guillemont, Ph.D. in law at Université Paris1 and author of the essay on electoral disputes, also said that Macron had distinguished himself from being presidential, and that the electoral law did not prohibit Macron himself from participating in the elections to the National Assembly.
Olivier Faure, the first secretary of the French Left Socialist Party (PS), questioned Macron through social media X. (Image source: Screenshot of social media X)
Using the media to interfere in elections?
Finally, the first secretary of the leftist Socialist Party, Fahr, argued that Macron's act of publishing an open letter was a purchase of commercials. Article 52-1 of the electoral law prohibits "advertising for elections through commercial advertisements in the media," but French election lawyer Adelno concludes that the law prohibits the payment of page fees, rather than the publication of "an open letter which is then published in a newspaper."
Even more noteworthy is the fact that the local media made it clear that the letter was handed over to them by Macron. This means that the media can decide whether or not to publish the content, so the media can refuse to publish the open letter. But it would be surprising if a newspaper refused to publish the president's open letter, with Briant-Guillemon, a doctor of law, saying that even during the election period, no media would reject Macron.
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(Editor: Li Fei)