Just an "honorary title"?

Le Pen doubts Macron as commander-in-chief

What powers does Macron have? This question is currently preoccupying France.

(Bild: AP ( via APA) Austria Presse Agentur/Benoit Tessier)

Three days before the first round of the parliamentary elections in France, right-wing populist Marine Le Pen has questioned the powers of the president as commander-in-chief. Since then, a fierce debate has raged among the French about how the constitution should be interpreted. 

In an interview with the newspaper "Le Télégramme" published on Tuesday evening, Le Pen said that the role of the president as "commander-in-chief of the armed forces", which is enshrined in the constitution, is an "honorary title".

"It's an honorary title because the prime minister watches over the cash register," she emphasized. She assumed that her party, Rassemblement National (RN), would achieve an absolute majority and that party leader Jordan Bardella would then become prime minister. "Jordan Bardella will not mess with the president, but there are red lines. The president will not be able to send soldiers to Ukraine," explained Le Pen.

Angry reaction to Le Pen's comments
In response, Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu published the relevant constitutional article and a quote from a speech by former President Charles de Gaulle on the X online service.

You can read the post here:

"According to the Constitution, the President is the guarantor of the independence and integrity of the country, as well as of the treaties that bind it. In short, he is responsible for France", Lecornu quoted a speech by de Gaulle from 1962. "To bear this supreme responsibility, the head of state needs adequate means. The Constitution gives him these," added de Gaulle. The Minister of Defense commented: "The constitution is not an honorary office."

Putin is already opening the champagne.

François Bayrou

Bild: AFP/Emmanuel CHERKI

François Bayrou, a politician close to President Emmanuel Macron, accused Le Pen of being anti-constitutional. "If you claim that it's just a nice title, then you are seriously questioning the constitution," he told the Europe 1 channel. Le Pen's statement was "extremely worrying", he added.

The election to the National Assembly not only has national significance, but also consequences for Europe and beyond, said Bayrou. "Putin is already opening the champagne," he said, alluding to the RN's previous closeness to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

RN wants to block Macron
Le Pen later reaffirmed her position in the online service X with somewhat more diplomatic words: "Without questioning the president's competence to send soldiers abroad, the prime minister has the opportunity to speak out against it through budgetary control," she explained. She recalled that the socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin had spoken out against the deployment of soldiers in 1999, which the conservative President Jacques Chirac had planned.

Constitutional lawyers point out that the distribution of roles with regard to defense in the French constitution is actually not clearly defined. "This is one of the points where it is most unclear," said expert Bertrand Mathieu. "There is no clear demarcation," he added. However, the issue had not played a role so far because there had been no major disagreements.

Who has what powers?
According to constitutional law expert Mathieu Carpentier, tensions could arise over the issue of sending French military trainers to Ukraine. Such a decision would ultimately have to be taken jointly by both the president and the prime minister. "The risk of a political crisis is quite high and could damage our strategic interests," he said.