The leader of the French delegation in the European Parliament's EPP Group, Franck Proust, is of the opinion that the change that has been announced to the voting system for the 2019 European elections in France (removing big regional constituencies in favour of national lists) is a step backwards that will distance citizens from the European Union a little more.
"What is the use of permanent parliamentary offices in regions? What is the coherence with the management of European funds by regional councils? What is the logic of integrating MEPs in committees for monitoring these funds?", Proust asked in press release on Wednesday 29 November, after he had met France's Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, according to a press release.
Speaking out against "electoral fiddling", he criticised the French government's intention of lowering to 3% the threshold of votes to be achieved for the reimbursement of campaign costs. In Proust's view, this arrangement will lead to a multiplication of applications and will favour Eurosceptic parties.
The Christian-Democrat party, Les Républicains, to which Philippe is affiliated, is reportedly the only party to oppose a change to the voting system for the 2019 European elections. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)