Usages of an e-Participation Platform by French Legislators: The Resilience of Representative Democracy?

A key issue of scholarly debates on democratic innovations is why elected politicians engage in innovative decision making, in particular in the form of participatory democracy. Different usages of participatory tools by political representatives have been highlighted (Fung & Wright, 2003; Mazeaud, 2012), but further investigation is needed to account for the political conditions under which politicians resort to participatory instruments. This article confronts the case of French legislators from the Senate and the National Assembly to this literature on the uses of participatory tools by elected representatives. The paper intends to unpack the choices of MPs and Senators to use an e-participation platform while they are key actors of representative democracy. Therefore, the research question structuring this analysis is the following: why do some legislators use an online e-participation platform? The French case is an extreme case (Lijphart, 1973) of citizens’ mistrust towards the (political) elites as evidenced by the Yellow Vests. In this respect, the French case magnifies the issues of elected politicians’ usages of participatory tools. To answer the research question, we selected the case of a French e-participation platform: Parlement & Citoyens (Parliament & Citizens). Parlement & Citoyens (P&C) is an online platform (website) “enabling citizens and legislators to work together to find solutions to [France's] problems”. P&C is a private initiative established as a non-profit organization pursuing three objectives: increasing public policies efficiency, strengthening the legitimacy of law making and strengthening trust between citizens and elected politicians by building an open and transparent collaboration. It has been running since 2013, and thus far 17 Senators and MPs have conducted 24 consultations. Legislators are invited to upload (ideas about, or elements of) draft laws on the platform that are open to comments, arguments and votes of citizens and organizations. To date, over six years of operation, only one vote occurred as a result of a consultation of P&C. Data collection consisted of six interviews with MPs or Senators (or their parliamentary assistants) who used P&C. These legislators have different profiles (in terms of partisan affiliation, political careers, or chambers in which they are elected). They have used the platform for consultations on very diverse issues (local currencies, the use of ICT for education, the protection of biodiversity, the status of elected officials, the rationales for imprisonment, or collaborative economy). The interview sample also includes citizens who participated in consultations, and with the founder and president of P&C. The thematic analysis of interviews shows that beyond the usages and objectives specific to each legislator, all elected representatives who have conducted a consultation on P&C share a common thread. The use of the platform is an attempt to legitimize their role and functions in the context of legislative institutions that are largely dominated by the executive power. Paradoxically thereby, participatory democracy comes to the rescue of representative democracy. French MPs and Senators do not use this e-participation platform as a way to implement a participatory agenda; rather, they use it to gain influence on policy design.