Its use was expected, it is now recorded. As he announced during a meeting with the heads of the “common base” groups (LR, Horizons, MoDem and Macronists), article 49.3 of the Constitution was brandished this Monday by the Prime Minister as part of the examination of the bill on the financing of Social Security in the National Assembly. “I hold the government responsible”declared Michel Barnier from the podium.
The text is not yet considered adopted, because the rebels indicated that they were going to table a motion of censure just after the triggering of 49.3. As for the National gatheringdespite new concessions from Michel Barnier, he announced that he “will vote for censorship” from the left and will even file its own motion. The left's motion of censure, which has every chance of being adopted by a majority of deputies, would mean the end of Michel Barnier's government.
The essentials
- Michel Barnier triggered article 49.3 of the Constitution, which allows the draft Social Security budget to be passed without a vote.
- The left will table a motion of censure
- The National Rally will also table a motion of censure and will vote on all the motions, “where (they) come from”
- If one of the two motions of censure is adopted by a majority of deputies, the government of Michel Barnier will fall
- The vote on the motions will take place this Wednesday evening or Thursday morning
- Pensions, loans, hospital rates, deficit: What can happen without a Social Security budget?
- The motion of censure is a frequent procedure, but which brought down a single government in the Fifth Republic
“The French would not forgive us for preferring particular interests to the future of the Nation”
This is the first time that Michel Barnier has activated 49.3. “We have now reached a moment of truth which confronts everyone with their responsibilities. It is now up to you, deputies, parliamentarians of the Nation, to decide whether our country adopts responsible financial texts, essential and useful to our fellow citizens. Or if we enter unknown territory”, declared the Prime Minister before the National Assembly, calling for priority “the future of the nation” compared to “special interests”.
Michel Barnier had already warned against “the storm“that a fall of the government would trigger, particularly on the financial markets.
The left announces the filing of a motion of censure
The Insoumis announced that they would submit a motion of censure to the Assembly as soon as they left the chamber. Prime Minister Michel Barnier “will have both dishonor and censure this Wednesday”, declared the head of the Insoumis deputies Mathilde Panot to the press. “It is not possible that in a democracy, it is the losers of an election who govern, this is what we are going to demonstrate by immediately tabling a motion of censure with the New Popular Front”added the rebellious MP.
“Michel Barnier will go down in history as the Prime Minister who will have the shortest mandate as Prime Minister of the Fifth Republic, she tackled. For our country to emerge from political chaos, all that will remain is for the President of the Republic to leave and for the French people to be able to decide, through their vote, on the new directions they want for this country. Environmentalists, socialists and communists have indicated that they will approve the motion of the left forces.
It is the motion of censure of the New Popular Front which will be examined first, because the NFP tabled it first, franceinfo learned this Monday from the entourage of the President of the National Assembly.
The far right will “vote for censorship”
In the process, Marine Le Pen indicated that the RN group would table a motion of censure after the use of 49.3 by Michel Barnier and that the far-right deputies would vote on all the motions, “where (they) come from”including from the left. “We will vote on this motion of censure and first of all ours”she clarified, considering that “Mr. Barnier did not wish to respond to the request of the 11 million voters of the National Rally”. The Prime Minister, Michel Barnier, “was committed to constructing its budget taking into account the positions of all the groups” including that of the National Rally, but “the government did not see fit to respect this commitment and this promise.” “He said that everyone assumes their responsibilities, so we will assume ours”she added.
In the morning, Michel Barnier spoke on the telephone with Marine Le Pen, then announced in a press release a new gesture in his direction, committing “so that there is no delisting of medicines” in 2025, when the government had planned to reduce the reimbursement rate by 5%. But for Ms. Le Pen, the score was still not there.
Filing a motion of censure requires the signature of one tenth of the members of the Assembly. A deadline of 48 hours takes place between the tabling of the motion of censure and its vote. To be adopted, she must collect absolute majority of votes of deputies (289 seats out of 577). In addition to the resignation of the government, its adoption leads to the rejection of the text for which it had taken responsibility. If the left and the National Rally, the first group in the Assembly, unite their voices, the government will fall.
“The French will have to remember this alliance”, tackles Gabriel Attal
If the Barnier government falls, France will sink further into the political crisis created by the dissolution of the National Assembly by Emmanuel Macron in June. The risk of a financial crisis linked to France's ability to borrow on the markets at low rates is also very significant. The president of the Macronist group in the Assembly Gabriel Attal had previously called the oppositions “not to give in to the temptation of the worst and therefore not to vote for censure of the government”not only.
“If censorship is voted on this week, the French will have to remember this alliance which made it possible. This alliance of the entire left, including a Socialist Party for which the general interest is only a distant memory, with the RN”warned the former Prime Minister.
