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It is an evening that will remain in their memories, as listening to the political analysis of a former President of the Republic was so enriching for the future lawyers of the school. HEDAC at Viroflay (Yvelines).
They were 200 in the auditorium to listen to the president Francois Hollande, Monday, March 28, 2022.
An exceptional meeting, scheduled as part of HEDAC Wednesdays, which every fortnight welcome politicians, decision-makers, legal specialists.
He was a lawyer
For more than an hour, François Hollande answered questions from young people, before continuing with a long photo session.
“We wanted a very free format, made up of questions and answers, easily accepted by François Hollande”, confides Benoit Dumontet, director of the school.
Visibly very comfortable with the students, François Hollande completed the connection by recalling that he himself had been a lawyer, having taken an oath, for two years.
He then explored some twenty themes, delivering interesting insights into the function of politics, whether in the executive or in parliament.
Analyzes all the more listened to 10 days before the first round of the presidential election. The electoral campaign was therefore quite naturally invited, and largely, in this dialogue.
The campaign is skewed by international news, domestic politics is obscured by the war in Ukraine, but at the same time enhanced by what is happening in central Europe.
And to clarify his analysis, listened to attentively by the students, some of whom may one day embrace the function of elected official.
Talking foreign policy
“The international occupies half of the presidential time. The Head of State gets elected on matters of domestic policy, but it is the international that occupies him for a good part of the day. We should also ask more of the candidates what they would do, in the field of dialogue with the Russians, the delivery of arms to Ukraine or to create the Europe of defence. “And to tackle severely:” 2022 should experience a large-scale campaign, but I do not believe that we are at the level. »
Abstention, probably strong, also gave rise to the president’s analysis.
“A politically confused debate, a fractured political scene”, this is the observation of President Hollande. He sees a few obvious solutions:
Restoring the democratic fiber necessarily involves organizations that create programs, select candidates, train citizens in political appetite. The parties play a role of civic education, not personalities who appear on television or take over from the family.
” He is funny “
The underlying humor, almost tongue-in-cheek, of the politician, was appreciated by the listeners. “He is funny, without jargon, ultra-accessible and he responds to all subjects. The student lawyers are very interested in politics, they loved this moment with François Hollande”, note Nawel Boulakdam, head of events at HEDAC and Karim Chentoufi, president of the HEDAC association.
The law on the non-accumulation of mandates also produces an effect on the appetite of French people for politics, like a flashback.
“I now wonder about its relevance,” admits the former President of the Republic.
“It was an expectation of public opinion, which ultimately greatly impoverished the National Assembly. I was elected in 1988, there were in the hemicycle Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, Jacques Chirac, Georges Marchais, Édouard Balladur. All French political life was present in the National Assembly. Today, political life is fractured, lack of tenors anchored in the territories. The deputies with the non-accumulation have difficulty in having this necessary link, which the mayors have with their territory. A link with the necessary population, which seems to me incompatible with a desire displayed by some to limit the number of mandates for a mayor. If he’s good, it’s hard to ask him to stop. François Mitterrand, Jacques Chirac, should have stopped their political careers under such conditions. We need these great figures. Perhaps we would reduce abstention if they were more present, ”thinks François Hollande.
“He really enlightened us on a certain number of points, thanks to the vision of the man who held responsibilities at the top of the State”, confides Serkan, a student in 1st year.
Emmanuel Fevre
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