Paris (AFP)

Former Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin proposed Sunday that the National Assembly be elected for four years, instead of five currently, which would "decouple" the election of the President of the Republic from that of deputies.

"The (social) violence in the country is extraordinarily worrying," said Mr. Raffarin on BFMTV, alluding in particular to the opposition to the pension reform, currently under discussion in the Assembly. "I think what is most concerning is that the violence is focused on the person of the president."

"In my opinion, we are in an institutional dead end. The president devoured the power of the Assembly for institutional reasons" because "the deputy is elected at the same time as the president".

"In such a complex and diverse society, this digital democracy of today, one man and only one cannot embody society. We need democratic breaths. From this point of view, we must not same term for parliamentary and president's term ".

"I propose the Assembly elected for four years" because "decoupling" the election of the president and that of the Assembly would "solve the problem" he said.

Raffarin also said that President Emmanuel Macron was "overexposed". There is "excessive customization" that "weakens it," he said.

The former head of government also considered that "it is not undemocratic to do the 49-3", a tool that allows the adoption of a law without a vote and that the majority could use to pass the reform pensions, since it is "provided for in the Constitution".

© 2020 AFP