The Citizens' Convention for Climate in France: An Introduction of Participatory Democracy into French Governance

In response to the 'Gilets Jaunes' movement, and the general sentiments of the elitism and illegitimacy of French government which sparked it, President Macron organised the Citizens' Convention for Climate (CCC): a participatory forum of 150 citizens, randomly selected to deliberate in a unique model of 'co-construction' with experts, which over the summer of 2020 produced 149 legislative proposals, including for constitutional amendment. The thesis explores the actual and potential impact of the CCC on French governance. It shows that, while the resulting projet de loi introduced by the French Government into the National Assembly resulted from the CCC's proposals-as opposed to the Conseil d'État which usually drafts the Government's proposed bills-the CCC did not actually replace the ordinary legislative procedure, as some proponents of citizens' assemblies would hope, but rather found its proposals thoroughly amended by it. In a deconstructive analysis, I will argue that the CCC's actual normative impact was limited by its consultative constitutional nature, within the broader context of a French Constitution haunted by the spectral traces of its colonial origins and its historical tradition of supreme executive power. However, the CCC nonetheless has the potential to impact the future of French governance, in particular due to the further institutionalisation of citizens' conventions already in progress in the polity.