What is the "vote of confidence" announced by François Bayrou for September 8?

According to François Bayrou, it will be a matter of deciding the "central question" of "controlling our finances." The Prime Minister indicated on Monday, August 25, that he had "asked the President of the Republic to convene an extraordinary session of the National Assembly on September 8" with a view to "engaging the government in a general policy statement." The announcement came during a back-to-school press conference , which aimed to answer the many questions about the austerity measures presented on July 15 .

If the deputies renew their confidence in the government, François Bayrou then explained, the vote will "consecrate" the principle of his budget savings plan – an "effort" estimated at nearly 44 billion euros to reduce the country's public deficit. Only after such a vote, the Prime Minister believes, will "discussion" on "each of the measures in this emergency plan" be able to take place. Conversely, without the Assembly's support, he will consider that "action" is "impossible." "If there is no minimal agreement, it's pointless, we won't get there," he insisted.

The use of Article 49, paragraph 3, of the Constitution , by which the government commits its responsibility for the vote on a text, has become widespread in recent years. But there is no question, for the moment, of triggering this tool. François Bayrou is using another faculty offered to him by the same article, in the first paragraph. This provision allows the Prime Minister, "after deliberation by the Council of Ministers", to commit "before the National Assembly the responsibility of the government on its program or possibly on a general policy statement".

With the very direct consequence, as the following article provides, of bringing down the axe if the Assembly disapproves of the general policy statement. In this case, the Prime Minister is obliged to "submit the resignation of the government to the President of the Republic," Article 50 requires.

In practice, it is the responsibility of the Conference of Presidents of the Assembly to organize the debate, as provided for in the rules of the lower house of Parliament. It is their responsibility to allocate speaking time, which must be "allocated half to the opposition groups," while maintaining "a minimum of five minutes" for "a member not belonging to any group." The last few minutes are reserved for the executive, allowing it to "reply to speakers who have spoken." At the end of the debate, the various political groups may still speak to provide explanations of their vote.

Voting takes place by public ballot: one by one, the deputies are called to the podium, so that their ballots are placed in the ballot box. Under Article 49.1, the rule is that of an absolute majority of votes cast. In other words, to bring down the government, it is sufficient for more than half of the voters to vote against its program. This article therefore protects the executive less than Article 49.3, which requires an absolute majority of the members of the Assembly (at least 289 deputies).

Since the beginning of the Fifth Republic, Article 49.1 has been used a total of 41 times. Once appointed, the government is not required to answer to the Assembly. Practice between 1958 and 1993 showed that Prime Ministers have always considered this faculty as optional: some have renounced it because they did not have an absolute majority in the Assembly. After 1993, almost all governments sought the approval of the deputies within days of their appointment, but the last vote of confidence dates back to July 2020, after the arrival of Jean Castex at Matignon. Several governments have also used Article 49.1 during their existence, to respond to particular circumstances, like Michel Rocard in 1991. The Prime Minister then sought the confidence of the Assembly on his policy in the Middle East, at the height of the outbreak of the Gulf War. Alain Juppé imitated him in 1995 to validate his reform of Social Security.

Up until now, confidence has always been a vote of confidence. If François Bayrou were to fail to obtain the agreement of the deputies on the principle of his austerity plan, he would be the only Prime Minister under the Fifth Republic to have brought down his government on this basis. The country has not experienced such a reversal since 1955, when the Assembly disavowed the executive led by Pierre Mendès France.