Guillaume Tabard: Bruno Retailleau’s Plans Would Bring an Institutional and Popular Big Bang

Bruno Retailleau’s proposed “big bang” is not presented as a threat to democracy based on the rule of law, but as an effort to reinforce democracy through popular sovereignty, according to Guillaume Tabard’s commentary in Le Figaro.

Tabard argues that electoral campaigns often favor a striking phrase over a constitutional reform project, while voters may focus more on purchasing power than on institutions. Yet he says Retailleau’s proposals could unlock public action by removing institutional barriers. They could also give new momentum to a campaign that has been slow to take off.

Retailleau, now Interior Minister and the current Les Républicains candidate for the presidency, caused controversy two years ago when he declared that the rule of law was “neither intangible nor sacred.” Tabard says the subsequent dispute, pursued by the left and by supporters of Emmanuel Macron, approached the issue from the wrong direction.

Rather than portraying Retailleau as following an alleged illiberal path, Tabard says those seeking to lead France should address growing public frustration with political powerlessness on issues voters consider essential, particularly matters involving the state’s core responsibilities, including justice. The remainder of the subscriber-only commentary was not provided.

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neither intangible nor sacred