who are the parliamentarians boycotting the Versailles Congress?

Some chairs will remain empty against Emmanuel Macron. Many parliamentarians have indeed decided to boycott the Congress, convened by the head of state in the very solemn Palace of Versailles, Monday, July 9. As the year before, Emmanuel Macron will deliver a speech to senators and deputies to draw "the outlines" of its economic and social policy.

Decided to denounce what they consider to be an exercise in communication intended to restore the coat of arms of the Head of State, several elected officials will not attend the event. Others have only announced that they will not go to the lunch scheduled before Emmanuel Macron's speech. Franceinfo takes stock of the present and the absent.

Those who will come in spite of their opposition to Emmanuel Macron

• The communist parliamentarians will not boycott the Congress, contrary to last year. The Communists nevertheless wish to take the opportunity to denounce "the hyper-presidentialisation" which "is accompanied by a reduction of the power of deputies" explained to franceinfo André Chbadaigne, the leader of the Communists in the Assembly. In 2017, the event brought together many journalists, and the leaders of the various parties had expressed themselves at the end of the presidential speech.

We hesitated before participating in this Congress. We nevertheless decided to do so to carry a word that will consist of dismantling the speech of the President of the Republic (…). It was thought that it was better to speak than to be absent. André Chbadaigne to franceinfo

• The elected representatives of the National Rally will also be at Versailles. Interviewed Monday morning on BFMTV and RMC, Marine Le Pen wanted to stand out from insubordinate France by announcing that the deputies of his training will attend the speech of Emmanuel Macron.

I believe in democracy, I will listen to the President's speech. We aspire to be a party of government, not a simple party of protest which seeks to make the buzz as the unsubstantiated France by boycott the congress. Marine Le Pen on BFMTV

Those that will not come at all

• Some elected Republicans will miss the call. Among them, Fabien Di Filippo, MP LR of Moselle and deputy secretary general of the party, and his group companions Pierre Cordier, Julien Dive and Annie Genevard . "It is not my conception of the institutions, nor the separation of the powers explained the elected one on Franceinfo. My role is to defend my fellow citizens, to launch an alert when things are wrong and denounce the use and waste of public money by the President of the Republic for reasons of pure personal communication. "

For François Hollande in 2015, which was expressed to the Congress following the very serious attacks on our soil, I would of course have returned to the Congress in a spirit of national unity. There, we attend a small republican monarch who wants to restore his authority. Fabien Di Filippo, Deputy Secretary General of the Republicans to Franceinfo

Those elected go against the order of Laurent Wauquiez. "If I were a deputy, I would have gone there myself, and as head and head of my political family, I think that our deputies and senators must go", had in mind effect prevented the Republican boss. Are there divisions within the right-wing party? Fabien Di Filippo ensures in any case to have spoken with Laurent Wauquiez before making his choice. " He said one thing: it is the autonomy of everyone to make his decision in his soul and conscience" he justifies.

• The parliamentarians of insubordinate France announced that they were all going to boycott the presidential meeting. "Every year we are summoned to admire its splendor, Macron I, who gives us a speech launched Jean-Luc Mélenchon Sunday on Europe 1. Like all the rest of The decor of Versailles is pasteboard, it's fake marble and that's going to be false solemnity. "

To protest, the unsubdued parliamentarians decided to organize a "online demonstration" during the Congress. Specifically, Internet users are invited to "join a Facebook event" and "publish tweets with the hashtag #MacronMonarc" at 2 pm, one hour before the speech presidential, explains the Journal du Dimanche.

• Some Socialist deputies also decided not to go to Congress. This is the case of Régis Juanico hamonist deputy of the Loire. " Congress is not convened for personal convenience did it explain to the radio station Etienne Activ Radio. We must resist what appears to be an attempt at confiscation democratic institutions. " Like him, the senator of Isère André Vallini explained on Twitter that he will boycott the event, judging that he "aggravates the presidential drift".

I WILL NOT AT VERSAILLLES : this reform wanted by Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008 aggravates the presidential drift of the Fifth Republic and confines in a secondary role the Prime Minister who is, however, responsible to Parliament.

– André VALLINI (@VALLINIAndre) July 8, 2018

Those who will boycott lunch

Before the beginning of his speech, scheduled at 3 pm, Emmanuel Macron invited the parliamentarians to a lunch. But many decided to decline the invitation in protest.

• Tenors of the Republicans will not attend this luncheon. This will notably be the case of the chairmen of the LR groups in the Assembly, Christian Jacob, and the Senate, Bruno Retailleau. "I did not go there last year, I'm already going to have the throne speech, so the king's supper …" told AFP. The Vice-President of the Assembly, Marc Le Fur and Quaestor Eric Ciotti also indicated boycotting the appointment.

• Socialist cadres members of the Bureau of the National Assembly, also declined the invitation of the President of the Republic . This is particularly the case of the president of the Nouvelle Gauche group, Valérie Rabault.

• The president and president of the communist groups in the Assembly and in the Senate André Chbadaigne and Eliane Assbadi, will not participate in the luncheon either. Instead, they will "swear an oath to defend a Democratic Republic" in front of the Jeu de Paume room, the party announced.