What would happen if Emmanuel Macron resigned? With the president and his government going through a political crisis, this hypothesis has been raised several times. Here is what the constitution provides.
While the government faces a growing risk of censorship, the hypothesis of Emmanuel Macron's resignation has emerged in the political debate. The main person concerned excludes it but other voices have dared to entertain this idea, which would not be without consequences.
Wednesday, November 26, the mayor of Les Républicains de Meaux (Seine-et-Marne), Jean-François Copé, and the general rapporteur of the budget to the Assembly, the centrist Charles de Courson, both pleaded for the departure of Emmanuel Macron. The second sees it as the solution to emerge from the “political chaos” that the head of state has, according to him, “triggered”.
Implementation of Article 7 of the Constitution
La France insoumise is calling for an early presidential election, an eventuality which also seems to attract the favor of the National Rally. On LCI, the vice-president of the party, Sébastien Chenu, estimated that “Emmanuel Macron would be doing our country a service by leaving his position as President of the Republic”.
The possible resignation of the President of the Republic is provided for in article 7 of the Constitution. It is a question of “vacancy of the presidency of the Republic for whatever reason”, because this includes the hypothesis of the death of the head of state.
A blitz lasting between 20 and 35 days
From the moment the vacancy is noted by the Constitutional Council, a new president must be elected “at least twenty days and at most thirty-five days later”. In the meantime, barring exceptions, the presidential interim is currently exercised by the President of the Senate, Gérard Larcher.
During this period the latter has limited powers, for example he cannot organize a referendum or dissolve the Assembly. The government cannot be overthrown during the vacancy and no constitutional revision can be initiated. In the event of the President of the Senate being “incapacitated”, the functions are transferred to the government itself.
Emmanuel Macron automatically excluded from the election
If he resigned, Emmanuel Macron would not be able to stand for his own succession. Since its revision in 2008, the Constitution indicates that the president “may not serve more than two consecutive terms” and constitutionalists agree that this applies even if the second term is incomplete. The head of state could, however, stand for re-election in a subsequent presidential election, years later.
French history has only known one presidential resignation: that of General De Gaulle on April 28, 1969, after the lost referendum on regionalization. The Constitutional Council considered that “the conditions provided for in Article 7 of the Constitution” were met and the President of the Senate, Alain Poher, took over in the interim.
