The figure of the providential man, a “French schizophrenia”

• France, with its political regime granting broad powers to the Head of State, is a unique case, both born of a desire for counter-power but always cradled by the illusion of a providential political figure.

• The presidential election, which often comes down to a battle of personalities above all, is in this line.

• According to our #MoiJeune study published on Wednesday, 52% of 18-30 year olds believe that even if the candidate who has their preference is elected next April, their personal situation will not improve.

We are all a bit the same, deep down.

When things are not going well, the novelty immediately takes on the appearance of a miracle solution.

An observation that is valid in everyday life, but which also finds a broad echo in political life.

In the storm, people are looking for the new face, the one who represents the hope for a better future.

“It is the temptation of a providential man, of a hero, of a savior capable of delivering us from our misfortunes and our uncertainties”, summarizes the professor of contemporary history Jean Garrigues.

The academic has made it one of his main subjects of study.

It must be said that this quest is part of our national heritage.

According to him, it even stems from a “French schizophrenia”, “recurring in our political history since Napoleon Bonaparte”, which was succeeded by Georges Clemenceau, Léon Gambetta or General de Gaulle.

As if, while the Republic was born out of a thirst for counter-power, we were desperately looking for a figure of authority to turn to, in “a kind of nostalgia for the lost Monarchy”.

Unique case in Europe, since the British, Belgians or Dutch still have their sovereign, while the Germans and Italians are not about to leave the destinies of their country again to a man holding too many powers.

"In France, it's different, there is always this irrational need for a chef", assures Jean Garrigues.

The presidential election is perfectly in this line.

Our political regime makes it a battle of personality above all.

We first vote for a person, what they bring out and how they take us on board in their story, before scrutinizing their program with a magnifying glass.

Nicolas Sarkozy won in 2007 on his energy, François Hollande in 2012 on a return to a certain humility in the function, and Emmanuel Macron in 2017 embodied a generational break and a new way - younger, more modern - of doing politics.

Disenchantment

Except that the boomerang return is particularly violent.

“The presidential election is a machine for creating disappointments, criticizes Olivier Rozenberg, professor at Sciences Po and specialist in institutions.

We give a lot of power to one man rather than to a coalition of parties.

This power turns against him because the expectations are exorbitant, and one can only be dissatisfied.

“A disenchantment that leads to a dropout on the part of the population, especially among the youngest.

According to our #MoiJeune* study published on Wednesday, 52% of 18-30 year olds believe that even if the candidate who has their preference is elected next April, their personal situation will not improve.

Bruno Jeanbart, who conducted this survey for OpinionWay, perceives two strong elements: the younger generation is "much less sensitive" to the "authority" dimension of the Head of State, and expresses a "very strong distrust" of him about its ability to meet its commitments.

"We are no longer in this imagination of the 1980s or 1990s, where we had the feeling that we were going to go from shadow to light depending on the result of the presidential election", supports the vice-president of the polling institute.

Proportional and questions-answers in the hemicycle

The system would therefore run out of steam.

But the solution to re-oxygenate it does not necessarily go through a Sixth Republic, believe our interlocutors.

Because the election of the president remains a highlight of French political life, and it would be paradoxical to want to revitalize democracy by depriving citizens of the choice of their leader.

Without revolutionizing everything, arrangements that would not require changing the Constitution are possible.

Olivier Rozenberg unfolds his two big ideas:

“First, a proportional vote for the legislative elections.

The president would no longer have an absolute majority automatically, and would be obliged to discuss, to find common ground to form a coalition, as in Germany.

That would limit his power,” he imagines.

The other point would be to “develop parliamentary control of the president.

Parliament cannot force him to resign, but it could ask him questions, for example once a month, in the hemicycle.

We would get out of this image of the aerial monarch who is never asked to account ”.

We would then find images like those from Strasbourg, in mid-January, when Emmanuel Macron, after his speech on his vision of the EU before the European Parliament, had to respond step by step to criticism from French elected officials, who took advantage of this rare window.

And so much the worse for the image of franchouillarde political practice sent back to all of Europe.

The idea of ​​a president having to get out of his carriage to defend his decisions is appealing.

But we are not quite there yet.

Already, because it will be necessary to find the one who will betray an entire lineage by opening the door to a loss of power.

And that there will be behind parties to convince.

“The neo-Gaullist right does not want it because this reform would take the head of state out of his majesty.

The left, which dreams of a strong Prime Minister, does not want one either because it would be to admit the power of the president, ”said our professor.

Our file on the presidential

And young people in all this ?

A little overwhelmed by what they perceive as “institutional cuisine”, they seem quite divided on the society they want and the people who could help them shape it.

“The lack of consensus is striking, notes Bruno Jeanbart.

When asked which France they would like in five years, the first answer is "more egalitarian", at only 29%.

We might have expected two-thirds to tell us "greener", but no.

No answer really stands out.

As if they no longer believed that much in the current system, perhaps.

*​Study #MoiJeune

20 Minutes – OpinionWay, conducted online from January 5 to 7 with a representative sample of 1,026 young people

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If you are between 18 and 30 years old, you can participate in the "#MoiJeune" project, a series of surveys launched by 

 with OpinionWay, by registering HERE.

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• Presidential election 2022

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