Original subtitles

Is it working? Yes.

Dear friends, I am standing in front of the Council of State,

where, right now, President Dorendeu

is consulting with an obscure committee of constitutional experts

whose so-called wisdom is supposed to help her make informed choices.

However, my friend, Philippe Rickwaert, had a great idea.

-Philippe. -Hello, everyone.

In a democracy, only the people's wisdom counts.

Over the past 15 days, across the country,

thousands have written down and submitted their demands and hopes.

A plethora of inventive and considered suggestions.

However, the President has not deigned to consult them.

So, we have come to deliver a modest selection

of this germinating collective intelligence.

Finally, I come to our work's conclusion.

We recommend strengthening Parliament's powers

with more control of its agenda and improving its representation

through better proportionality.

Sorry, why such half-hearted measures?

I clearly said two things.

Constituent! Constituent!

A SIXTH REPUBLIC NOW! REVOLUTION

Stand up, people! We are The People Stand Up!

Stand up, people! We are The People Stand Up!

First point:

all of politics depends on one vote, the presidential election.

The result: for five years, the people's opinion no longer exists.

Second point: personalities come before policies.

The result: we debate people instead of their ideas.

You know that these two statements have one cause:

the plebiscitary designation of the President of the Republic.

It perverts it all.

You recommend removing the President's election by direct universal suffrage?

Yes.

We only need to modify Article 6.

The people's sovereignty cannot be incarnated by one person.

It is the basis of representative democracy.

Madam President,

before submitting your reform for a public referendum,

you need a parliamentary vote.

I doubt you would achieve that with such a radical change.

Why not?

Parliament's legitimacy would be re-established.

And with that, the primacy of collective deliberation.

Even if you manage it, the people are attached to this election.

That is a political argument, not a legal one.

-Legally, am I in the wrong? -No, but...

Fine. Then do your jobs as jurists and I'll handle the politics.

Why bother with Parliament?

Article 11, boom! A direct referendum. Like de Gaulle!

We can't give MPs more power to just go over their heads.

-The Yes is a minority in Parliament. -No. It depends on the Gaullists.

Damn it! 30 years in politics to end up depending on Boudard.

No.

As Minister of the Interior and as a Gaullist supporter, no.

It's a return to the Fifth Republic.

It is the same text as in 1958, not a Sixth Republic.

Election by universal suffrage is at the heart of the General's vision.

If the '62 changes are altered, it falls apart.

With regret, I must present you with my resignation.

Do you know what is expected of me or any other president?

To fix it all. Every five years, a mad hope is born.

What quickly follows is immense deception.

With inevitable disappointment after inevitable disappointment,

we turn to fortuitous profiles which are increasingly against the system.

Counter powers are challenged.

The entire democratic system will end up as the victim of presidentialism.

You know,

I grew up with a photo of my 20-year-old parents in 1968.

On the Champs-Elysées, on 30 May,

at the demonstration in support of the General.

They are beside my grandfather, Louis Boudard,

one of the first companions in London in 1940.

They are pushing a baby carriage. You can't see me, but I am in it.

Only a couple of weeks old.

Gaullism is permanent. A heritage. My role is to perpetuate it.

-No. -Sorry?

Your role is to serve your country.

I didn't have a photograph, but I have the memory of a feeling.

The feeling of rain dripping off my father's hair

as he carried me on his shoulders, Place de la Bastille,

on 10 May 1981.

I was five. It is my dearest memory.

Did I betray it by naming Gaullist and centrist ministers?

No.

Did I betray it by leaving the SP to found A United France?

I betrayed nothing.

I acted responsibly

in the interests of France. That is what I am asking you to do.

Madam President.

-We have Boudard! -Don't play with me like that.

I had to drive a hard bargain.

We can't change de Gaulle's constitution without them.

A hard bargain?

I could offer either the party leadership,

neutralizing Thorigny until the congress,

or the position of the New Formula President,

in the situation that Yes wins.

Someone has to and I don't want it. The real power is the Prime Minister.

Yeah, but still! What did he choose?

Both. The party until the legislative elections, then the presidency.

-That's too much! -It is worth it.

With Boudard, we win the parliamentary vote.

The referendum happens, but the strategies of the others

for the presidency are wiped out. I'll take them by surprise.

-Boudard doesn't control all Gaullists. -Some of the old hands will defect.

He estimates between 15 and 20.

That's credible. The remaining 70 councillors are obedient.

They'll follow their captain.

Thorigny is sorted. He just left the government.

If he votes No, he'll be Brutus. He isn't brave. He'll vote Yes.

-How many? -75, minimum.

Kalhenberg is easy. He is for the Yes and he'll vote Yes.

The SP couldn't even dream of it. They have no candidates.

-37 councillors. -The same goes for the Greens.

Fourteen.

Chalon's vote won't be a surprise.

The worst is for Vidal.

It will be awful for him.

They'll be split in half.

-Masterful. It sounds like Rickwaert. -A more refined version!

...which is why I believe it is time

to modify Article 6 of the Constitution to return to its original wording,

by removing the direct universal suffrage for the election

of the President of the Republic.

Like our neighbours,

we will return to a parliamentary regime which...

-Damn it! -...better represents

all opinions and a more deliberative way of functioning.

In no way is this a return to the powerlessness

and instability of the Fourth Republic.

Our majoritarian voting system

and the rationalization mechanisms that govern it...

-Why are you in the dark? -I'm thinking.

Obscurity helps me to see clearly.

You know, all my political life

I have followed a fundamental rule: first, put the work in.

Construct a thought. Elaborate a concept.

All my books and speeches were written by me, alone at my desk.

Then it's time for tactics.

She is doing everything backwards. She disgusts me.

I hate her.

This referendum is a curve in the road.

If you go straight on, you'll crash like Ayrton Senna. Take the turn.

-No. An opponent opposes. -Not when his ideas are stolen.

Who has always denounced the presidential monarchy?

You! She is rallying to you. She is starting the Sixth Republic.

That is for the people to decide. Does she have a Constituent? No.

First, answer me this: Yes or No to dethroning the monarch?

But the interesting thing about a referendum

isn't the question, it is why it is being asked.

Dorendeu knows I can beat her in an election.

-So she removes that election. -You can't say that.

You can't say: ”Down with monarchy, unless it's me.”

You'd be ridiculed.

Show that you're the new Mitterrand. Unite the left!

The ”left” are a bunch of zombies.

Uniting the left would get us where? 35% all in.

To win, we need to ride this populist wave.

I need that presidential election.

You can win in legislative elections. Unity is dynamic!

The People Stand Up could clear the way for a new Popular Front!

You hold on to this union idea through habit.

It's like wearing an old sweater. But that sweater is dirty.

You need to throw it away and put on a clean one.

If she wants a fight, she'll get one.

I will lead the No campaign. I'll post a tweet right now.

One tweet won't solve anything. You need some form of democracy.

The Sixth Republic is in the DNA of The People Stand Up.

I am The People Stand Up.

MICHEL VIDAL TWEETED: IT'S A NO FROM ME.

Shit, I don't believe it!

He doesn't even consult us anymore. We're still MPs!

Trump Syndrome: he's freewheeling. Words all in capitals.

Respond. We can't let this go.

If we hit him head on, it could backfire on us.

”Hysteric Dupraz, Crazy Dupraz.”

Then we ask for a vote within the party.

As long as we aren't divisive. The timing must be impeccable.

Haste is the worst of all tactics.

216 comments already.

See! ”It's a no from me, it's a no from me.”

IT'S A YES FROM ME.

It's catching on. It's magical. Absolutely amazing.

Do you remember when we had to send press releases to the chump at the...

PHIL RICKWAERT: IT'S A YES FROM ME.

Looks like you wrote Yes instead of No. Correct it before it goes viral.

It isn't a mistake.

Did you just do that right in front of me?

Like you did.

Traitor.

-Politics. If you had said Yes... -You'd have said No.

A traitor betrays first, then justifies themselves.

No. If you had said Yes, I would have followed you

and even admired you.

Sacrificing ambition for your program which you have always defended:

the end of presidential monarchy. I would have seen a man of the State.

A man capable of leading my country.

-Get out. -With pleasure.

CRISIS AT THE PEOPLE STAND UP IN ONE MINUTE

Mr. Vidal. Please!

You're loving this. You're ecstatic!

I'll bring you back down with a bump.

There is no divergence within The People Stand Up!

None at all! Capisce?

We are in discussions. There is no divergence in the party.

-No divergence? -No.

-Ms. Dupraz? Ms. Dupraz... -Don't put words in my mouth.

It isn't Yes or No. I have the right to remain neutral.

I said, no comment. So, please... I can't say anything.

-Hello. -Is it Yes or No?

He says No, I say Yes.

So the question is where does the party stand?

I only know one way of deciding: an internal vote. Thanks, bye.

There is no divergence within The People Stand Up! None at all!

Capisce?

”None at all! Capisce?”

I want social media to ruin his life.

Sell-out, traitor, Dorendist, ex-con!

So he won't even switch on his phone.

These are stormy waters, but the sea will calm eventually.

No, it will only get choppier. If Parliament votes Yes,

there will be the referendum campaign.

A six-month ordeal of seeing our divisions grow.

Everyone will be told to choose, as the question is for the French people.

-Impossible to avoid an internal vote. -And you'll win, it's your movement.

I'm just as vulnerable as the next guy.

If you give a man a gun, he'll shoot the boss.

You need an alternative.

Dupraz won't join Philippe. They hate each other.

They hate me the most.

Once they form a coalition, a deep chasm will open up.

A catalyst for separation. The party is done for. Then, there's the referendum.

If Yes wins: ”End of the line, Mr. Vidal.”

So it's all doom and gloom?

I am a veteran soldier. I know how we die.

First, you get injured. You try to stem the flow.

But everyone can see that you're still haemorrhaging blood.

In primitive societies and in the animal kingdom,

the injured is isolated somewhere calm for it to die in peace.

In politics, it is different. The knives come out and they attack.

They have probably been against me since the beginning.

-Rickwaert and Dupraz? -Rickwaert and Dorendeu.

Generally, when you sell yourself out,

you get something in return. Isn't that right, son?

The negotiations must have been harsh.

Tell us what your socialist friend gave you in return.

Nothing, Father. Times have changed. That's all.

So the General is in the past?

-I didn't say that. -No, he didn't.

Maybe not, but he's letting it happen. The socialist is burying the Fifth

and he's letting her do it.

-Now, listen... -That's enough!

Enough!

I'm meeting with the Chief of Police.

-I'll call a car for you. -We'll take the bus.

So you'll send a taxi? You have the address.

Yes, that's right, thanks. See you tomorrow.

The morning slot on France Inter. It's early, but good.

-I'll support your... -Just one second.

Yes? Sorry, I just said yes to your colleagues at Inter.

Thursday? Thursday is fine.

Thanks, bye.

-Sorry. You wanted to see me? -Yes, I'll support an internal vote.

Sure. Minimum effort.

Aurore, what hurts Vidal isn't the vote, it is the Yes.

The increasing list of rebels. The growing mistrust.

What are you doing? Aren't you for the Yes?

Any normal left-wing voter is for the Yes,

but I won't roll over for Dorendeu.

You'll have to elaborate on that.

Dorendeu proposes a referendum to make life hard for Vidal,

while you're setting fire to the party.

-You think Amélie and I planned this? -I know you, Philippe.

Vidal's exit means no left-wing opposition.

Dorendeu will be Chalon's only opposition. Bis repetita.

Killing Michel is not the goal. It's the only way to kill Amélie.

He's her useful idiot.

Michel can't unite the left, and what's more, he doesn't want to.

Without a left-wing union, he will always be limited:

never far away, but never ahead.

That's when it's Amélie versus Chalon. There's your bis repetita.

Thank you.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have the honour of opening...

With these words, I have the... No. Ladies and gentlemen,

I have the honor of opening the general discussion

on the bill for a referendum on the President's election...

Come in, Martin.

It is good. A very good investiture speech.

I have a few suggestions to make it more dynamic,

only if you agree, of course.

Speechwriters, technical advisers,

they all had their say. It's difficult to digest.

Everything starts to take shape now.

I'm not sure about developing the monocephalous system and its limits.

Boudard wasn't comfortable with the quote from Achille Peretti.

-He read my speech? -We have to work closely with him.

Of course. You're right. Anything to put me out of my misery.

Martin, I have been in your shoes.

Not at the Assembly, but at the SP's National Council.

Same story: an unelected technocrat taking center stage for the first time

to give their first speech as First Secretary.

I was petrified.

Someone gave me some great advice:

when you stand at the lectern, slowly count the rows.

One, two, three, four, five, up to ten.

Focus on one face.

For one minute, only that face counts. You only address that face.

You need one minute to get used to the clamor, the shouting,

the lectern banging, and the dizziness you'll feel.

One minute and you will eloquently give your speech,

because it is a good speech that presents a good and great reform.

Martin, you were a senior civil servant.

Now, you are the Prime Minister of France.

You can fearlessly look them right in the eyes.

IT'S A YES FROM ME

Champagne! If Madam agrees.

I never thought I'd be celebrating a tweet from Dupraz.

We're celebrating you.

To you, the only one who opened the door to me when no one else would.

You sound like Georges Brassens.

So, what now? Tell me what happens next.

Scenario one: the Yes wins. No presidential election.

It all happens in the Assembly. We need coalitions,

which favour a left-wing union.

My policy since forever. I'm in a good position.

And if it's a No?

We missed out on the opportunity to end the presidential monarchy.

All because of Vidal. So we fight for left-wing primaries.

Since Michel screwed up,

I'll pound him into the ground: autocrat, egotistical, an eternal loser.

Tell me something.

Why do you think I helped you?

You like me, I'm a good guy, we agree politically, the left is alive...

I'm scared, Philippe.

Every day, I wake up wondering how long before misfortune catches us.

Ten years? Three years? Two months?

Away from politics, I was fine.

But from the nonsense I used to spout, there was one truth:

”If you don't take care of politics, it'll take care of you.”

Amélie isn't a shield, she's an accelerator for populism.

When you turned up at my door, I thought you might make it better.

You come from the bottom, you've been bruised, you aren't a traitor,

and you understood that the left must unite to avoid the worst.

The problem is that

where you want to go, you need to be a solid block of concrete.

-But you cave at the slightest nudge. -Me, cave in?

-Vidal won you over! -He never won me over.

I joined his party to screw him over and I'm doing it.

-Damn it! Am I on trial? -Vidal won you because he impressed you.

You thought: ”He's strong, cultivated,

a great orator, and my talent is as a kingmaker.”

You're hiding, Black Baron. Comfortable, but not courageous.

Do you think the Prole bowed down to the great thinker?

He talks about the people, but he reeks of class contempt!

-I acted tactically. -”Tactically?”

He wanted a Black Baron, I let him believe it!

-Now, I'm screwing him over! -I think you're rewriting history.

He had you. If he had said ”Yes”, you would've followed.

Believe whatever you want.

You respect him too much. To beat him, you have to hate him.

Hatred is intimate and personal.

I can't hate just anybody. It is an honor.

Amélie... She is the one I hate.

I will conclude with the words of Léon Gambetta:

”As republicans, France is here in this auditorium

and not elsewhere!” Here, as since 1789,

the people's representatives know that they are our nation!

Ladies and gentlemen,

the time has come to revive our republican history.

The time has come to say: Yes!

That felt really good.

-It was great. -A speech to remember.

It's like you're floating. As if you're in a daze. It is like a drug.

It felt so good!

Honestly, I felt so good up there!

Let's drink to Martin.

-It is only 3:30! -Have water then. It doesn't matter.

-It does matter. Water is unlucky! -Just a drop.

Here. Madam President, would you like one?

-Yes, please. -Would de Gaulle...

Malika, how do you define a ”drop”?

You know, just a drop, a little bit...

I'll tell you what I think. Half a century on,

we should be able to take stock.

-Shit! -Take stock of General de Gaulle?

France's interests are all that counts.

Madam President.

-My dear Amélie. -Take stock of General de Gaulle?

How do we pull that back, huh? How?

How? I'm watching the news channels. The speech is inexistent!

It's just you taking stock!

What got into you?

...we should be able to take stock.

-Take stock of General de Gaulle? -France's interests are all that counts.

-Yes? -François.

Backpedaling, denial, whatever you say, I agree.

The priority is not losing any of your friend's votes

for some misplaced words.

I'd just like to know one thing.

Are you taking stock of his 18 June speech?

Or is the fact it was recorded in London debatable?

No. I completely understand your reaction.

I quit.

And count on a No from the Gaullists as if we were one!

François, you can't... You have an agreement with the President.

I had one! What did you think?

That you could tempt me with a starring role in a Hollywood film? Ciao!

-That feels good. A weight has lifted. -But... you just resigned.

The only thing that counts in a referendum is the question.

Yes or No to removing direct universal suffrage for the President's election?

I am against it. Against taking stock of de Gaulle.

Against weakening State authority. Against government instability,

and I'll open my mouth and say what I think.

-The New Formula President... -Do I look like René Coty?

Summon all the Gaullist parliamentarians.

Emergency meeting. ”It's a No from us!”

You don't declare war without...

We have 80 councillors and a huge dick. Mine.

That is enough to go to war with.

FOR AGAINST ABSTAINED

The Senate is fine. The Assembly is an issue.

Only 22 Gaullists are with us.

It could be worse.

We depend on the votes from The People Stand Up.

What could be worse?

Aurore, Borde is blundering, Boudard is turning,

the majority is in jeopardy and Vidal has called an emergency meeting.

He doesn't call unexpected meetings.

He'll try to screw us over. He'll target you.

He'll try to force the No to avoid the referendum.

But if our 14 pro-Yes councillors stand strong, the referendum happens.

What if he imposes a parliamentary group vote?

He has the majority and you'll have to vote No,

-or he'll exclude you. -No, he'd look like an autocrat.

He doesn't care! It is vital for him

to save his skin by avoiding the referendum.

-Did Aurore call you? -We'll fight till the end and vote Yes.

You, Zineb, Aurore, fine, but the others?

The threat of exclusion could change minds.

Six The People Stand Up councillors are enough to get the vote through.

I hope so, or it will be carnage.

He will end us.

Stick to the script: no group vote as that is a trap.

We want a vote for all members and we might have a chance.

We're creating a precedent by democratizing the movement.

Speeches, debates, all of it.

-Enough for a real movement. -Okay.

-Are you coming? -We mustn't go together.

It won't avoid fraction accusations, but it won't add fuel to the fire.

It's up to you. It is what it is. My face speaks volumes.

When I'm in bad shape, it shows.

Sleepless nights take their toll with age.

None of us are sleeping well, right?

I won't beat around the bush: it is my fault.

I was traumatized.

In the Socialist Party, the internal vote was sacred.

We decided our differences by voting.

We wrote texts that nobody read.

Then we'd vote on the basis

of an electoral body rigged through fakery.

As if that wasn't sufficient to satisfy the leadership,

they'd quietly fiddle the scores.

Please, Aurore, I'm nearly finished.

It was a parody of democracy and I always said to myself

that I would never reproduce such mockery here.

I am like everyone else, I'm learning as I go.

I am proposing, for the first time within The People Stand Up,

to organize a debate and a vote.

A parliamentary group vote?

No, the 623,774 members of The People Stand Up.

Everyone has their say.

And you need a vote, even if you aren't elected.

I have one condition:

this vote guarantees our unity.

If Yes wins, all the councillors, including myself,

must conform. If No wins, the councillors will vote No.

Aurore? You wanted to speak?

No. It's going in the right direction.

We'd have to look at the methods.

A digital vote with operational control

for Yes and No representatives with gender parity.

And for the texts?

That leads to a race for signatures

and exposing our divisions to the public.

I have another idea.

On 26 November 1900, at Lille racetrack,

8,000 working-class activists

attended a debate that brought greatness to the young socialist movement.

Over three hours, Jean Jaurès and Jules Guesde

expressed their arguments with the greatest of respect.

Despite their disagreements being much more important than our own:

the Dreyfus Affair, participation in bourgeois governments.

This great controversy illuminated like none other

the ideological debate between reform and revolution.

Dear friends, we are a popular education movement.

We are the new permanent school

of fight and thought. We are The People Stand Up!

Philippe, will you do me the honour

of accepting this fraternal discussion?

Here's my bibliography, so we'll be on equal terms.

It goes from Robespierre's speech on the Constitution

to Mendes's Modern French Republic. And a bit of Plato as a reminder.

I propose a national TV debate. We each pick a journalist.

No, we'll do it between us, live on social media.

-No need for journalists. -There has to be a ringmaster.

Or ”mistress”: Véronique is neutral.

Ten minutes for introductions, then we debate, okay?

I told you what I wanted: Jaurès and Guesde.

Two one-hour speeches, one after the other.

No punchlines, but solid reasoning, and logical links.

We're going to take the time to present our ideas.

That's how you and I do politics, right?

Which venue? Which city?

Why not out in the open? A stage surrounded by people.

It would be a lovely public event.

It would hark back to the times when officials would duel with swords.

The last duel dates from 1967:

Gaston Defferre beautifully struck René Ribière twice,

but he wasn't allowed to finish him off.

I will not have such scruples, Philippe. I will kill you.

-What does your friend do? -Finance. He was my partner in college.

When we finished our thesis, an investment fund made us an offer.

He accepted, and I didn't.

-I've taken a huge risk. -Don't worry. No one knows you're here.

The referendum is getting away from me.

I'm not sure it will even get through Parliament.

Worst of all, the result depends on Rickwaert.

But you believe in this reform.

You did what you thought was right and you should be proud of that.

On the evening of our first kiss, a desire came to me in the night.

What was it?

To stop everything. It was just a fantasy, of course.

A dream you cherish to keep it at a distance.

Now, it isn't a dream, but a real-life nightmare.

If my reform fails, I can't see how my term ends

other than handling day-to-day business.

I have been pretentious, presumptuous and arrogant.

I wanted to flip the table, but I was on top of it.

Okay, I found the quote:

”Bonapartism and Republicanism are contradictory and incompatible.”

-Do we add it to the conclusion? -It's the wrong angle.

This is shit. Who cares about that? And that is gibberish.

Start from scratch. Is there blank paper?

Philippe, changing at the last minute never works.

You have your three points: the left, the Republic and...

Who is going to get their ass kicked by Vidal? You?

Is it you or you? No, it's me!

If I say it's shit, it's shit. A pile of shit!

Let's take a break. Could you give us a minute?

You have worked hard and can't take a step back.

Your speech is good, but you need sleep.

-I'm in serious pain. -Show me.

It is swollen. Since when?

-A few days. -It's psychosomatic.

What does it matter? I'm dying on my feet, dammit!

-Have you taken something? -A lot of codeine.

-Maybe Dupraz should step in. -Two hours before? Ridiculous.

That jackass will crucify me! No referendum and I'll be done for!

Cancel this ambush.

-What? If I fail, I'm dead! -You only have one shot.

If you miss, you're done. If you don't go, you're already dead.

So aim for the head and take him out.

-Who are you calling? -Who'd you think?

When the Great Controversy begins in two hours,

social media will be on fire.

Vidal's No's against Rickwaert's Yes supporters.

This online battle could influence the undecided. Our target.

The problem is Vidal's army: a giant wave ready to submerge to us.

We're not targeting the number of accounts, but their quality.

A few accounts that are very active.

Three teams will be working in parallel.

First, the fact-checkers.

Whenever Vidal cites a statistic or refers to a fact,

we look for errors, estimations, anything that casts doubt on his speech.

We are the LOLers. We create LOLs, jokes,

funny hashtags and amusing GIFs.

We mock Vidal and showcase Rickwaert's punchlines.

I'll be leading the prosecutors.

We track misdemeanors and offensive language.

And their arguments? Who is responsible?

They convince the convinced.

We target emotions: laughter, fear, hope, anger.

Our satellite accounts will react to that.

-The bots. -Non-human accounts?

You mean, fake accounts.

-It seems risky. -They're unverified accounts.

It's like paying for rally supporters.

Or banking on booing rather than applause?

Cognitive psychology shows that negative emotions are more mobilizing.

I may seem outdated, but is that the best you can do?

Madam President, we could be like Hillary Clinton:

clean hands on social media, but beaten from the start.

You were right to come. You have a large abscess.

I'll drain it and it'll feel better.

Nurse, could you prepare the anesthetic, please?

-Sorry, did you say anesthetic? -Yes, it's better.

Does it affect speech?

Ma'am, trust me, I am very experienced. Let me work, or you can leave.

She is working too. Answer her question.

Your tongue will be swollen for a few hours.

-It'll be ok tonight. -No. He has a debate in 90 minutes.

Fine, but I can't leave him like this.

Can you do it without anesthetic?

Don't move... Breathe.

Stay still. It's nearly done. Stay still.

There.

They will each present their opinion over one hour.

Since he won the coin toss, Michel Vidal will begin.

Friends, please. No interruptions,

no booing and no shouting from the audience.

Don't let our opponents see a boxing bout.

Let's show them a great democratic moment!

They won't cut off

or interrupt each other, as stated in the rules.

Thank you. I will now hand over to Michel Vidal!

Michel! Michel!

What is a Constitution?

It is the contract that connects us. It connects the people with itself.

It is part of our great political homeland.

I say political homeland because our homeland is republican

and the Republic is not a neutral regime, it is politically engaged.

Don't forget that in France,

the Republic founds the nation and not the reverse.

Five republics. All daughters of tragic events.

All resulting from severe convulsions: revolutions.

1789, 1848, and the wars.

Do you believe that we can survive after a rural exodus as before?

After waves of migration as before?

After Europe, climate change, the new status of women as before?

No! We can't!

The people of 1958 is in the past. Constituent!

Constituent!

Friends, no. Please.

Please! Please! No!

-Thank you. -Friends, don't chant my name.

-It isn't like you and it isn't like me. -Resistance!

Friends, please!

Changing Article 6 of the Constitution, fine.

But what about Article 16...

-Your LOLers are effective. -The digital team is overloaded.

I can see that.

And Article 35 allows the government to send...

Can we get a feed without all this nonsense? It's distracting.

...a state of siege for 12 days. Then what?

So many anti-Republican warts that won't be touched?

The Constituent: reinstate the people

as its only sovereign. If not, who will it be?

A king, a god, the invisible hand of the market?

Friends, let's be serious.

Say No to this smokescreen and Yes to the essential. Constituent!

Constituent!

-Thank you. -Michel! Michel!

Thank you. Now, let's hear from Philippe Rickwaert!

-Get lost, Black Baron! -No, please!

Please. I'm asking for silence and respect.

Watch out, the Black Baron is about!

One, two, three,

four, five, six,

seven, eight, nine, ten.

I understand your disappointment...

...but don't take it out on me. I promise to be quick.

He's good, isn't he? You calmly listen to him,

and you travel through time. You learn. It is almost intoxicating.

I'm more primitive.

But I'm still educated.

My father, a communist dock worker, and my mother, the school cleaner,

taught me the most important thing: courage.

Bravo!

And you need that to defend your principles against Michel.

Would you have done it?

Maybe I shouldn't have.

Courage is standing by your ideas.

So that's what I'll do. Michel confirmed my idea.

Because my mother,

who knew La Fontaine better than Saint-Just,

taught me the moral of a fable whose title I forget.

”One in the hand... two in the bush.”

-The Fisherman and the Little Fish. -Michel, please.

It's fine. He's helping me, Véro... Thank you, Michel.

You're welcome.

The Fisherman and the Little Fish.

”A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” Which is worth more?

A Constituent, someday, maybe?

Or a referendum here and now

which removes the President's election through universal suffrage?

By voting Yes today, we end presidential monarchy.

But if you vote No, we are no closer to a Constituent.

To get a Constituent, Michel must become president.

I hope he does, for us and for France!

But he has already failed twice!

There is another popular saying: ”Bad luck comes in threes.”

Enough. Please be respectful. Enough, please!

Stop booing, please!

Listen, here, there is no blasphemy!

Friends, if Michel becomes President, whether we vote Yes or No now,

there will be a Constituent.

If he doesn't, you should have voted Yes,

and only Yes, to put an end to the presidential monarchy!

Where I come from, which is from the people,

if you get the chance, you grab it!

Because we need it! We don't throw it away,

because maybe, in an ideal world, there might be something better!

If people on strike thought like that,

they'd refuse everything and gain nothing.

Right?

Let's do a little test. Who has gone on strike here?

I'm talking about real strikes.

Where you stop working without pay, not student strikes.

You see? It's a different matter.

When you fight and you can't feed your own children,

you take the pay rise! You take the victory!

You don't scorn it! It is the victory that brings change,

that builds to the next victory, it is the victory that educates the fight!

Friends, democracy is being smothered by the presidential monarchy.

-The country hasn't voted in years. -That's my dad.

The worst temptations exist and we should say No?

I took my mother's name, but I'm a Rickwaert.

We never thought we could succeed in ending the monarchy.

I have hated him, but I love him too.

And why? Should we have refused the Estates General

because Louis XVI summoned them?

The Grenelle agreements because de Gaulle was forced to do so?

These will be my last words.

The presidential monarchy is a danger to democracy and to us.

It forces left-wing candidates to strip themselves of their own values:

the primacy of the collective, the primacy of the social project.

By looking for the figure of a ”leader”, as brilliant as he is...

...The People Stand Up could corrupt itself to the point of betrayal

and end by disappearing into history's trash cans!

For all of these reasons, for us, it must be Yes!

-I must respond! I must! -No, Michel. You agreed to the rules.

-This is dishonourable! A disgrace! -It's over, Michel.

Okay, thanks.

57.13 for No, 42.87 for Yes.

It's a good result.

What? I was destined for 15. This isn't defeat, it's a step to victory!

-Definitely. -With six councilors,

we can turn the Assembly on its head. There are four of you here!

Philippe, we're voting No. We agreed.

-The people voted. That's democracy. -Damn it!

Just say you've never seen such a chaotic meeting.

Too many things at the same time,

it all happened so quickly that you made a mistake.

It happens. The voters will understand.

-Mistakes are only human. -All three of us?

We'll change the outcome!

Your lies might work on the voters, but not the media.

Who says we have to respond to the media?

Tomorrow, it will all be forgotten. The fight for No begins.

What counts in a referendum isn't the result, it's the campaign.

Imagine six months fighting alongside Boudard,

battling together for the No.

Maybe even on the same stage! No, friends, your little mistake

will be a step in the march towards a right-wing union.

Voting has closed. For: 286,

against: 280.

The constitutional bill for the revision of Article 6 is passed!

-How is that possible? -Who cares? We got our referendum.

Mr. Borde! I have a question for you. Is it an unexpected result?

Above all, I see the result of the work of conviction and pedagogy

that we have conducted with parliamentarians.

And in six months, the French people will cast their votes

on removing direct universal suffrage for the President's election.

Saved at the last minute by a Chalon scheme,

we didn't win anything except the right to fight.

The only thing that counts in a referendum is the result.

First, we need to mobilize the Yes camp.

We haven't heard from the Greens, the SP, or Thorigny.

He needs to come out of hiding and get involved.

Predictions give 64% to a Yes from The People Stand Up supporters.

That's where the votes come from. Rickwaert is the key.

You can't pick your allies.

We'll let her stew for a bit.

Stop it!

I'LL TALK TO YOU LATER

Subtitle translation by Elaine Scott