The Government of Elisabeth Borne chose this Thursday to activate article 49.3 of the Constitution so that the pension reform is approved. This is the hundredth time this decision has been made since the start of the Fifth Republic.
“I commit myself to the responsibility of my government,” said the Prime Minister in the chamber, under boos from the left.
The use of 49.3 must allow the approval of the reform without the vote of the deputies, unless a motion of censure is presented within 24 hours and voted by the National Assembly.
The president of the National Association group in the Assembly, Marine Le Pen, announced this Thursday that she was going to present a motion of censure against the Government after the use of 49.3 on the text of the pension reform.
Eleventh 49.3 for Borne
Elisabeth Borne is not her first attempt. Since her arrival in Matignon last May, the Prime Minister has chosen to commit government accountability in a bill on a total of 11 occasions.
The first ten times he used it, 49.3 was for the 2023 executive budget vote. The use of 49.3 has always caused outrage in the ranks of the left and the National Group.
Since the beginning of the Fifth Republic in 1958, Michel Rocard has remained the Prime Minister most fond of this tool. In fact, he has used this article 28 times, between 1988 and 1991, a period during which he did not have a majority.
A total of 16 prime ministers have used it, with no consequences for them. All of them survived the motions of censure presented by the opposition.
Source: BFM TV
