“I want the referendum to be a classic tool of action,” said the 53-year-old nationalist Eurosceptic, who is at loggerheads with incumbent President Emanuel Macron ahead of a run-off vote on April 24. The National Coalition candidate said the vote on the death penalty was on the table, as “there is no forbidden discussion in a large, mature democracy.” He added: “It is not dangerous to let people talk, what is dangerous is not to let them.” This is not the first time that Le Pen has raised the prospect of a reinstatement of the death penalty, which France abolished in 1981-16 years after Britain. She mentioned it in 2012 and withdrew it at the last minute from her manifesto in 2017. She has previously stated that she will personally vote against the reinstatement of the death penalty. The latest poll found that 55 percent of French people would support his return. Critics have argued that such a move would result in France being immediately excluded from the European Union, as the abolition of the death penalty is a precondition for joining the EU. Ms Lepen has made it clear she will bring about a “referendum revolution” if she wins the keys to the Elysee Palace. One of her first moves would be to hold a poll called “citizenship, identity and immigration”. Its aim would be to enshrine in the French constitution the principle of “national priority”, according to which French nationals have priority for jobs, welfare and housing. Critics say the very notion of national priority violates the French constitution and the declaration of human rights because it discriminates against foreigners who are legally in the country and should have the same rights as French nationals. Constitutionalists argue that such a referendum would first require the support of a majority in the upper and lower houses of parliament. Analysts say it is an unlikely prospect and doubt that Ms Lepen will secure a parliamentary majority in the June parliamentary elections. Any attempt to limit such a process would spark a major institutional crisis and provoke a “constitutional coup,” according to lawyer Jean-Philippe Derosier.
