A victory for the National Rally (RN) in the 2027 presidential election would not simply be a political shift, nor a mere hardening of policies against migrants. The constitutional proposal that the RN intends to have adopted after its potential victory reveals its true intentions. Don't you think the RN is planning a genuine break with the Fifth Republic? Read its writings on the National Assembly's website!
This draft constitutional bill is public knowledge. It was tabled on Thursday, January 25, 2024, in the National Assembly and is therefore available online. Naturally, it contains no provisions on the globalized bourgeoisie's accumulation of power and wealth; on the explosion of social inequalities and its consequences in terms of the impoverishment suffered by the working classes; on the changes in the organization of work resulting from Artificial Intelligence (AI); or finally, on the necessary fight against climate change. It only addresses the obsessions of the far right. It solely defines the National Rally's intentions regarding nationality, immigration, and the deliberate break with international treaties that guarantee the most basic human rights.Firstly, regarding the procedure, the National Rally (RN) claims it wants to adopt its constitutional text by referendum using Article 11 of the current constitution, which, however, does not allow for this. The sole purpose of this article is to allow for the submission to referendum of bills " concerning the organization of public powers, reforms relating to the nation's economic, social or environmental policy and the public services that contribute to it, or aimed at authorizing the ratification of a treaty ."
Because the constitutional provisions governing an amendment to the constitution are those defined by Article 89. They impose more stringent conditions. In particular, the bill must be adopted by both houses (the Senate and the National Assembly) in identical terms before being submitted to a referendum. Given the current composition of the Senate, this will likely be impossible. This led the newspaper Le Monde to write on August 17, 2026, that this bill from the National Rally is " a coup d'état in both substance and form ."
Moreover, this constitutional project seeks to introduce a new provision allowing for amendments to the constitution through Article 11. Nicolas Hervieu, a professor at Sciences Po Law School, quoted in Le Monde , sees this new provision as enabling a mere temporary political majority to easily rewrite the Constitution without any safeguards. " This would drastically alter the face of power and plunge us into something dizzying ."
According to the aforementioned article in Le Monde , Marine Le Pen, aware of the risk of being censured by the Constitutional Council, " has nevertheless considered two ways out ." One was to attempt to use Article 89 of the Constitution. This seems unlikely. The other, and more importantly, was to " submit the Constitution of a 'Fifth Republic bis' directly to the people , " thus circumventing constitutional rules. This would, in effect, " overturn the 1958 Constitution ."
The rise of the far right to power would therefore immediately create a " revolutionary " situation, and there would likely be major political and social unrest. However, while we can already imagine that the adoption of such a constitution in France would place it outside the European Union, it is impossible to make any further predictions.
How will the majority who elected Le Pen and want her to implement her program react? How will the right and center react to this power grab, given that they may have refused to choose between Mélenchon and Le Pen? How will law enforcement react to a contested government that disregards existing constitutional rules? What will the social movement be able to do to combat this prospect? The only thing we can imagine is that this proposed constitutional amendment will prevent Le Pen's rise to power from being as peaceful as Giorgia Meloni's in Italy.
Immigration control and the foreigners' regime in France
After the form, let us examine the content of the constitutional reform desired by the RN, which begins with its xenophobic obsession.
" Control of Immigration and the Status of Foreigners in France " is the title of Title 1, the central section of the National Rally's proposed constitutional revision. This proposal seeks to deny foreigners virtually all rights, including children's rights, the right to family life, the right to access the courts, the right to employment, and the right to housing. It would render ineffective the principle that " any person persecuted for their actions in support of liberty has the right to asylum on the territory of the Republic ." And, of course, this will also have negative consequences for French citizens .
To this end, this project aims to free France from the application of the " International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ", the " International Covenant on Economic and Social Rights ", the " International Convention on the Rights of the Child ", the " Geneva Convention on Refugees ", and the "European Social Charter ".
Article 1 aims to enshrine a discriminatory policy and effectively eliminate all human rights for foreigners. It stipulates that "the law (...) limits foreigners' access " to employment " in the private sector and, where applicable, in the public sector, as well as to the benefits of public services and policies, including housing ." Furthermore, the explanatory memorandum accompanying this draft constitutional law states that family allowances can be reserved for nationals.
Furthermore, the presence of a foreigner " must not constitute an unreasonable burden on public finances and the social welfare system ." This would allow, for example, the expulsion of foreign workers who lose their jobs. " Family reunification of foreigners may be prohibited . "
Shocking to the highest degree, another paragraph specifies that " the laws and regulations which implement this article and article 53-1 may apply to foreign minors and distinguish between foreigners according to their nationality, the duration of their stay in France, their family situation or their resources, and between the different parts of the national territory ."
Similarly, the draft constitutional law reverses one of the major achievements of the French Revolution: It allows the government, " by way of derogation from the provisions of Article 66[which states that no one may be arbitrarily detained]", to establish, outside of any legal principle, " the rules assigning to the courts of the administrative order the litigation of administrative measures placing in detention or limiting the freedom of movement of foreigners in an irregular situation or awaiting removal ".
Then we come to a first consequence for citizens who do not subscribe to the inhumane logic of the National Rally. The constitution addresses " the penalties applicable to any person who, through direct or indirect assistance and for any reason whatsoever, facilitates or attempts to facilitate the irregular entry, movement, stay, or employment of a foreigner on the territory, or their evasion of a removal order ." To be clearer, the explanatory memorandum of this text specifies that " no exemption from punishment may be granted, in the name of a distorted concept of 'fraternity,' in cases of assistance to undocumented immigrants ."
Article 2 then addresses the right to asylum in order to render it inapplicable. Asylum applications " must be submitted exclusively outside the national territory ." Thus, for example, an opponent of Putin will have to wait patiently in Russia for France's administrative decision after submitting an asylum application to the French consulate. At most, it is envisaged that they might be accommodated elsewhere during this waiting period: " During the examination of their applications, applicants are received on the territory of States with which the Republic has concluded agreements for this purpose ."
Defining the nationality and identity of France
Next comes the fundamental transformation of nationality law desired by the National Rally. Firstly, birthright citizenship is abolished in favor of the transmission of nationality solely through descent. " The means of acquiring[French nationality]by right are therefore eliminated ."
Furthermore, " the organic law determines the cases of loss or forfeiture of nationality ." Nowhere does it state that this only concerns those who have recently acquired French nationality or who have no other nationality. The explanatory memorandum specifies that forfeiture of nationality will be established by law " in the event of committing an act incompatible with French citizenship or detrimental to the interests of the Nation ." Such vague wording allows for all possible interpretations. Is wearing the Islamic veil an act incompatible with French citizenship? Is calling for militant mobilization to oppose national preference detrimental to the interests of the Nation? This text opens the door to the deprivation of nationality for all French citizens who oppose the far right, as is already happening in countries governed by the far right.
Another development, which might seem less fundamental, is that Article 5 of Le Pen's text amends Article 3 of the Constitution, whose last paragraph would become: " Only French nationals of both sexes who have reached the age of majority and enjoy their civil and political rights are eligible to vote and to stand for election , under the conditions determined by law. " Thus, the National Rally (RN) aims to definitively close off voting rights to foreigners at any level. This desire to exclude foreigners living in France from any form of citizenship is better understood by examining the following provision: " The law also establishes the rules concerning (...) the conditions of access for foreigners[to]positions of professional or trade union representation ," thus allowing for the prohibition of all political and trade union activity for foreigners.
Let's now turn to the far-right's view of French identity. " A fundamental element of France's identity and heritage,[the French language]is the language of education, work, commerce, and public services ." The use of any other language in education, work, commerce , and public services would therefore be prohibited.
While regional languages are granted special treatment and may be taught on an optional basis , any language other than French would become constitutionally prohibited in France, both in metropolitan France and its overseas territories. English, Arabic, sub-Saharan African languages, Chinese, or even regional languages... It would be forbidden to communicate in France in any language other than French. It would be forbidden not to speak French at work, in court... the xenophobia of the far right is bordering on madness.
Finally, there is the question of safeguarding France's identity, posed primarily in terms of heritage. The aim is to ensure " the safeguarding of France's identity and the protection of its historical, cultural, and linguistic heritage and its landscapes ." This pseudo-identity is based on a reactionary vision of France, conceived as eternal, unalterable, and impervious to cultural exchange. In such a conception, having Aya Nakamura perform at the opening of the Olympic Games would obviously become impossible. And eating sushi or kebabs? Clearly, none of this makes any sense in a constitution.
In conclusion
The far-right's proposed constitutional amendments challenge the legal order that establishes an international treaty signed and ratified by a country's political bodies as superior to constitutional or national laws, even if those laws are subsequently amended. And all this without requiring the ratified treaty to be denounced. From a legal standpoint, this is a monstrosity.
But in reality, the National Rally's primary objective is to free itself from all the European Union (EU) rules that hinder it, without officially stating so. Wanting to leave the EU is a political stance. But since the National Rally knows that asserting such a position today would be an insurmountable obstacle to winning the presidential elections, it lies to the voters. And ultimately, this part of its constitutional project is first and foremost a necessity for the National Rally if it wants to be able to pursue its outrageously xenophobic policies.
Furthermore, we find here and there some very worrying provisions that reinforce this logic. For example, " Ignorance of the provisions (...) of the second sentence of the fourteenth paragraph of the preamble to the 1946 Constitution cannot be invoked before the Constitutional Council or upheld by it ." It should be noted that this second part of the fourteenth paragraph states only that the French Republic " will not undertake any war with a view to conquest and will never use its forces against the liberty of any people ." Thus, the French constitution, in its National Rally version, authorizes itself in advance to wage such wars.
For those who haven't yet grasped it, the National Rally's rise to power is not just another political twist in France. Certainly, the Fifth Republic contains detestable authoritarian provisions. Certainly, the French constitution allows for a state of emergency, which means that administrative authorities, in the event of a " crisis ," can restrict freedoms, place opponents under house arrest, close certain venues, prohibit demonstrations, and authorize administrative searches.
The National Rally's rise to power would be a very different matter, first and foremost for legal immigrants, who make up nearly 9% of the population, but potentially also for anyone who doesn't have the right skin color. As for opponents of the National Rally, and this isn't limited to anti-fascists, we can fear the implementation of a genuine policy of intimidation and repression. The National Rally's platform paves the way for the widespread stripping of citizenship from opponents, just like in Putin's Russia.
We must do everything in our power to prevent the far right from coming to power. This is the first time such a possibility has had a significant probability of occurring. Let's make sure it never happens.
https://plateformecl.org/la-revision-constitutionnelle-du-rn-un-projet-de-coup-detat/
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Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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