“In the event of censorship, technical government would be Emmanuel Macron’s last card”

After Marine Le Pen's remarks indicating that the National Rally could vote on the NFP's motion of censure, in the event of recourse to article 49.3 to have the budget adopted, the scenario of the fall of the Barnier government is gaining ground. For the political scientist and constitutionalist Benjamin Morel, lecturer at the University of Paris-Panthéon-Assas, the advantage, in the event of the appointment of a “technical” government, is that “everyone will take a date with the idea that this time dissolution is not an option, but rather an acquired thing.”

What would happen the day after censorship from Michel Barnier's government?

If the motion of censure is ever voted on, the government will immediately be deemed to have resigned, which is different from the situation in July, when the government could legally be considered to have resigned only once the Prime Minister's resignation was accepted by the President of the the Republic. There, Emmanuel Macron will not be able to delay the moment when the government can only carry on with current affairs.

Therefore, the question that may arise is the following: does Macron keep a resigning government until a potential dissolution? Politically, this would seem completely crazy, but not legally impossible. Or is he appointing someone who might not be toppled by the same opposition coalition that would have toppled Michel Barnier, which would involve finding the five-legged sheep?

If the head of state judges that it is possible for a resigning government to apply the budget, perhaps by means of an order under Article 47, the resigning government can last a long time. We have little perspective, even less precedent, but there is a legal path. On the other hand, the political consequences would be very serious. The government would not be able to take measures that would commit its successor, it would be blocked on a whole bunch of appointments, it would have difficulty tabling bills, and would have absolutely no credibility in European negotiations as well as all the difficulties of the world to reassure the markets about our ability to have even a budget… Until when would this situation be tolerable democratically and politically? The question is who can he name behind it?

Could he rename Michel Barnier, as Les Républicains parliamentarians are already asking?

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