François Bayrou was finally appointed Prime Minister by Emmanuel Macron on Friday December 13, after numerous consultations and nine days after the overthrow of the Barnier government. This choice, which is far from unanimous among the political class, once again raises the question of possible censorship. Among the opposition parties, opinions differ and the left appears divided.
Insoumise France will vote for censorship a priori
The radical left party very quickly asserted its line. “We will table a motion of censure,” wrote about X Manuel Bompard, the national coordinator of La France insoumise (LFI), when the name of François Bayrou came up for the position at Matignon. The leader of the rebels in the Assembly, Mathilde Panot, also announced that the party’s deputies would vote for censure. “Two choices will be available to deputies: support for saving Macron or censorship. We made ours,” she wrote on X.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s party is in line with his past declarations. He recalled at the beginning of December that he would censor any Prime Minister who did not come from the New Popular Front. The rebels stand out from other NFP groups, notably the PS, with whom relations have been extremely tense for several weeks over the line to adopt vis-à-vis the new government.
The PS demands guarantees to avoid censorship
The socialists are more measured, at least initially, because they are not in favor of a motion of censure a priori. In a letter sent Friday to François Bayrou after his appointment, PS executives demanded certain guarantees, including that the “government will in no way place itself under the dependence of the National Rally, nor will it take over its xenophobic program”.
The party also asks the new Prime Minister not to use Article 49.3. The socialists also say that they would not participate in the government and will remain in opposition. On Thursday, the management threatened to exclude those who would be tempted to join an executive which is not left-wing.
We “let’s ask the Prime Minister to tell us how he intends to avoid further censorship, to guarantee us that he will not defend the record, the entire record and nothing but the record”warned Boris Vallaud, the president of the PS group in the Assembly. A policy that would be in “la continuation” of Michel Barnier’s government would lead “to the same sanction”, he added. As a reminder, the socialist deputies had all voted (with the exception of one deputy) the motion of censure against the Barnier government.
Environmentalists and the PCF set their conditions
Like the PS, the Ecologists and the PCF do not opt for automatic censorship, but they remain vigilant, particularly on 49.3 and government casting. “If it’s to keep the same people in key positions, like Bruno Retailleau at the Interior. If it’s to do nothing on pension reform, on ecology, then I don’t see what other choice we will have than to censor”warned Marine Tondelier, the national secretary of the Ecologists.
The communists recalled their credo: “Before talking about non-censorship, the appointed Prime Minister must undertake not to apply 49.3”, declared on BFMTV Fabien Roussel, the national secretary of the PCF. “If there is no 49.3, there is no motion of censure, we are obliged to dialogue”he added. During the consultations around Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée, the leader of the communists proposed the idea that the oppositions do not vote on a motion of censure, if the new Prime Minister promised not to use this article of the Constitution. However, a socialist executive had clarified Liberation that this deal would only hold if a left-wing personality was appointed to Matignon.
The RN delays and reserves the right to vote for censorship
The National Rally does not wish to vote on a motion of censure a priori, but reserves the right to use this “constitutional lever”, Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right party’s deputies, said on Friday. “I am not threatening censorship morning, noon and night, I am just saying that I am not giving up this tool and that the conditions we are setting are absolutely legitimate”she continued.
Party president Jordan Bardella clarified that the “a priori censorship would have been initiated against a personality from the left and from the extreme left. We had indicated that we were ready not to censor a priori a personality or a profile which would come from the right and center. He also recalled the red lines: “No reimbursement of medicines, do not weaken the economic and social situation of retirees”.
On Franceinfo on Friday, the party’s spokesperson, Philippe Ballard, clarified that the vote on a motion of censure would also depend on the way in which the debate on the budget would be conducted. “If, on the other hand, we persist as Michel Barnier did, if François Bayrou takes the same path, nothing prevents censorship, obviously”he added.
At LR, possible participation in government
Among Les Républicains, the course seems less clear for the moment, even if the LR deputies have decided not to vote on a motion of censure a priori either. These deputies are waiting for the new Prime Minister François Bayrou “explains his project” before “decide on possible participation”, participants in a group meeting on Friday told franceinfo. This position makes “consensus” within the group.
Bruno Retailleau thus requested “guarantees”particularly on immigration, to participate in government. The resigning Minister of the Interior was received Friday evening by François Bayrou to plead, in particular, for “reducing legal immigration to what is strictly necessary.” Laurent Wauquiez, head of the Republican Right group in the Assembly, recognized that the choice of the president of the MoDem is not “not easy and obvious, unlike September with Michel Barnier”. The right-wing party was well represented in the former government, with ten ministerial portfolios.
