From popular sovereignty to “government by judges”: How France’s Constitutional Council expanded its power

Bruno Retailleau mentions the Constitutional Council only three times in his proposal, but it is clearly the institution at the heart of the Republican Party leader’s planned constitutional reform.

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Give the people the final say.

The LR presidential candidate wants to expand the scope of Article 11 so that a referendum could be held on any law. He also proposes giving “the people the final say,” allowing voters to validate a law that the Constitutional Council has censured.

National Assembly President Yaël Braun-Pivet said she was “totally opposed” to the plan. She argued that political figures have been attacking the Constitutional Council and the Constitution for months, while calling the Constitution “our most precious asset.”

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Totally opposed.

The debate may seem highly technical and distant from the concerns of ordinary French people. Yet the issue goes to the power of the legislature and the balance between popular sovereignty and the authority of the constitutional judges.

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For months and months, some men and women in politics have been attacking the Constitutional Council and our Constitution, but it is our most precious asset.