“I am convinced that we must move.” Emmanuel Macron spoke in these terms this Monday in front of journalists from the Presidential Press Association (APP) about the end of life.
While the Ethics Committee gives its opinion on the matter on Tuesday, the Head of State announced that a Citizens’ Convention will be launched in October. With the aim, after six months of work, of achieving a legal text by the end of 2023. In addition, Emmanuel Macron does not rule out resorting to a referendum on this issue.
This is to complete the Claeys-Leonetti law that opened in February 2016 a right to deep and continuous sedation until death for patients in palliative care. Instead, euthanasia and assisted suicide are not authorized.
“Great Evolution”
Emmanuel Macron had publicly committed to work at the end of life on July 14, when he handed the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor to Line Renaud. The 94-year-old singer and actress is in favor of the right to die with dignity.
“Your fight […] looks like you because it is, as always with you, dictated by kindness, demand and that unique intuition that it is time to do it, so we will do it”, declared the head of state.
“On the part of the President of the Republic, this is an important advance”, analyzes our political columnist Mathieu Croissandeau, who recalls that there were “several parliamentary initiatives during the previous five-year period”.
“At the time and the majority leaders had always opposed it, arguing that we could not legislate at the time of a vote without having led a great debate on this issue with the French”
The precedent of the citizens’ climate convention
According to Mathieu Croissandeau, Emmanuel Macron seeks both to “leave his mark on history with a great reform of society” and not to “fracture the country”. Hence the use of a citizen convention to respect this balance.
However, our editorialist stresses that “the citizens’ climate convention had disappointed everyone.” His participants, because “they thought that the president was going to take up his proposals without a filter as he had promised.” But also, parliamentarians whose role is to make the law. However, this citizen convention can allow “advance beyond the divisions of the political apparatus of the lobbies”, considers Mathieu Croissandeau.
Source: BFM TV
