The day when… in 1962, a motion of censure overthrew the government under the Fifth Republic

Prime Minister Michel Barnier on a wire. This Wednesday, December 4, two motions of censure are debated in the National Assembly after the head of government's use of article 49.3 to adopt the 2025 Social Security budget. One of them, tabled by the left, could win the majority of votes, since the National Rally promises to vote for it. Which would then mean the fall of the Prime Minister and his government.

An extremely rare situation… but not entirely unprecedented under the Fifth Republic. Let's go back in time to 1962. At the time, the President of the Republic was elected by parliamentarians meeting in Congress. But General de Gaulle wants to change the rule and establish the election of the head of state by universal suffrage. Many deputies oppose it, fearing a loss of influence for the parties, and activate article 49.2, known as “spontaneous censorship”.

Motion, referendum and legislative

The text is transpartisan and is submitted by centrists and Christian Democrats, but also socialists or even radicals and independents from the non-Gaullist right. On October 4, the debate opens in the National Assembly. Prime Minister Georges Pompidou, appointed six months earlier, took to the podium to defend the project. Not enough to reverse the trend: the motion was adopted by 280 deputies out of 480. For the first time in the Fifth Republic (and only to date), the government was overthrown.

On October 6, Georges Pompidou went to the Élysée and submitted his resignation to the President of the Republic. The head of state takes note of this, but asks him to remain in office. Four days later, General de Gaulle dissolved the National Assembly. A referendum is organized on October 28 around universal suffrage. The “yes” vote won by a large margin (63.3% of the votes), strengthening General de Gaulle and, consequently, his resigning Prime Minister.

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Early legislative elections take place a month later. The Gaullists win once again. General de Gaulle reappoints Georges Pompidou as Prime Minister, and tasks him with forming a government. Initially overthrown, Pompidou ultimately remained at Matignon until July 1968.