Koumpentoum ou la République debout (et parfois assise)
A single gesture—or rather, its absence—was enough to bring to light what the Republic often prefers to keep silent about: its invisible side. In Koumpentoum, it wasn't laws or speeches that faltered, but a reflex.
To stand up. A simple, almost instinctive movement, which, in a Republic, is written nowhere… but expected everywhere. For the Republic is not sustained solely by its decrees. It also breathes through its customs.
It extends to those tiny gestures which, repeated silently, create collective respect. Standing at the entrance of an authority figure is not a legal obligation. It's a matter of etiquette. A way of saying: "I recognize, beyond your person, the institution you embody."
To those who want to reduce the incident to a dispute over legitimacy—elected versus appointed, people versus state—one must point out the obvious. The Republic of Senegal has already settled this debate, at least in practice. In Dakar, for example, a prefect, an appointed authority, legally dismissed a mayor of the capital a few months ago, even though the mayor had been elected by the people. No one invoked any absolute supremacy of suffrage to invalidate the action. Because, deep down, everyone knows that institutional legitimacy is not simply a matter of the origin of the mandate.
Even more significantly, the President of the Republic himself, the supreme embodiment of universal suffrage, takes the oath of office before the Constitutional Court. This court is not elected; it is appointed by the Head of State. And yet, it is before this court that the President symbolically bows, accepting that the law should frame the popular will. This moment says it all. In a Republic, the balance of power always takes precedence over the hierarchy of the ballot box.
The protocol is merely the visible manifestation of this invisible balance. Decree No. 99-252 of March 19, 1999, was not designed to flatter egos, but precisely to prevent everyone from improvising their own republic. It establishes an order, not to classify individuals, but to organize the coexistence of institutions.
In a department, the Prefect is not a mere figurehead. He is the direct representative of the State, the guarantor of public order and administrative continuity. Opposite him, the Member of Parliament embodies popular sovereignty. Neither negates the other. They complement each other. And it is precisely because their legitimacies differ that they must mutually recognize each other's authority.
Remaining seated when everyone else is standing up may not be illegal. But in politics, not everything that is legal is necessarily right in the public eye. Citizens don't read decrees; they observe attitudes. And in this scene, what do they see? A dissonance. A Republic wavering between respect and distrust.
The most worrying aspect is not the act itself, but what it reveals: a gradual erosion of republican civility. As if recognizing the authority of others had become a concession, even a defeat. As if every gesture must now be interpreted in light of the balance of power.
Yet, the Republic does not function through humiliation. It is sustained by mutual recognition. Protocol, in this context, is neither a colonial relic nor an instrument of domination; it is a common language, a safeguard against the excesses of ego.
Should we therefore enshrine a text that is over twenty years old without questioning it? No. The growing power of local authorities and the increasing legitimacy of elected officials call for adjustments. It is legitimate for a mayor to be more highly valued within their municipality. But this evolution must be built within the existing framework, not through radical change.
In Koumpentoum, the Republic did not falter. It was simply tested by its own contradictions. And it reminds us, with a subtle irony, that in this institutional theater, no one benefits from remaining seated for too long. Because ultimately, standing up is not a sign of humility. It is recognizing that the Republic is always greater than oneself.
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