#BREAKING - Macron proposes cutting French parliament by one third during Versailles speech

[ucrdem]

Source: France24 via Twitter

Link to tweet

Read more: http://www.france24.com/en/20170703-live-president-macron-contested-state-speech-versailles-parliament?ref=tw_i

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.............
Just ended, I think ... wait no, still going strong. Quite a stemwinder

Alternative direct link: http://www.francetvinfo.fr/en-direct/tv.html

[Turbineguy]

1. Sounds like he's getting ready for

a nice visit from Trump.

I'm sure Trump would love to reduce Congress by 1/3rd.

[ucrdem]

2. Bold words for his first state-of-the-etat speech...

I don't see it happening but then again he's got the numbers so I guess we'll see. So far in half an hour or so I've heard one round of applause from the assembly which looks pretty glum.

[WinkyDink]

3. WTH? Too many world leaders think "L'etat, c'est moi"!

[ucrdem]

4. Not everyone is board it seems . . .

In fact not everyone showed up:

Link to tweet

Critics in France’s splintered opposition fear Macron is overstepping his powers, drawing comparisons to Napoleon and the pharaohs of ancient Egypt.

Left-wing lawmakers are angry that he wants to strip worker protections through a decree-like procedure, allowing little parliamentary debate.

Others fear he is overshadowing Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, and dangerously sweeping aside the country’s democratic traditions.

http://www.france24.com/en/20170703-france-macron-redefines-tradition-versailles-speech-state-union-boycott

[Astraea]

5. too much democracy

Neoliberal scum.

[ucrdem]

6. "tell me why you should keep your job."

He is what he is I guess but yeah this is not the most democratic of proposals.

p.s: there was a 2014 Belgian film on this very trick:

"Deux jours, une nuit" / 2 Days, One Night:

"Sandra is a factory worker who discovers that her workmates have opted for a EUR1,000 bonus in exchange for her dismissal. She has only a weekend to convince her colleagues to give up their bonuses in order to keep her job."

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2737050/

Spoiler warning: at the end she doesn't get to keep her crummy job. Painful to watch.

[romanic]

7. Why is anyone surprised?

Macron looked better than Le Pen because she was a fascist nutjob, but he's still a neoliberal globalist banker. God only knows what kind of agendas he's got under his sleeves.

[newfaces]

8. I like the idea but...

So I have to admit that I generally like Macron's approach and think some of his ideas about reforming the French Parliament are pretty good. That being said, I think he's perhaps a bit... impatient? It seems he's gotten swept up in a tide of people rejecting the status quo, so he assumes that means everyone just supports his every whim. Probably because everyone around him *does* in fact support his every whim. I don't think anyone can really enact a meaningful reform agenda if they're just surrounded by "yes men."