This vote, unprecedented since 1962, forced the Prime Minister to resign and plunged the country into political and budgetary uncertainty.
Published on 04/12/2024 20:27
Reading time: 2min
End of game for Michel Barnier. On Wednesday, December 4, the National Assembly adopted the motion of censure tabled by the New Popular Front (NFP). The text was voted on by 331 deputies, i.e. 43 more than the absolute majority of 288 votes which was required for its adoption. This vote forces the Prime Minister to resign.
The motion of censure was tabled following the triggering of article 49.3 of the Constitution by Michel Barnier on Monday to have the Social Security financing bill adopted without a vote. A second motion was tabled by the National Rally, but it becomes irrelevant due to the adoption of the first.
This political situation has been unprecedented for more than sixty years. Before Wednesday's vote, only one motion of censure had been adopted, in October 1962. This led to the resignation of Georges Pompidou's government. At the time, General de Gaulle immediately reacted by pronouncing the dissolution of the National Assembly. But today, Emmanuel Macron cannot do the same. The Constitution prohibits it from dissolving before the expiration of a period of one year after the legislative elections.
Before the vote, Emmanuel Macron said he would not “do not believe in the vote of censorship”pointing a “unbearable cynicism” of the RN if it added its votes to those of the NFP. Michel Barnier had stressed, on TF1 and France 2, that each MP had “a share of responsibility”, hoping that prevails “the best interest of the country”. The deputies decided otherwise by overthrowing the government, barely three months after the arrival in Matignon of Michel Barnier.