Even if it is not used that often, the 49.3 and its dramaturgy are well established. A Prime Minister rising to the perch, a succinct statement, sarcasm on the opposition benches and a standing majority… On Wednesday, around 5:30 p.m., the final scene of the first part of the finance bill (PLF) took place. proceeded as planned. With perfectly distributed roles. “In approaching the budget debate, we knew the difficulties facing us. (…) We could then have abandoned the search for a compromise. But we made the choice of dialogueestimated Elisabeth Borne. Because if we do not converge on everything, we can come together when the general interest is in question. »
The Matignon tenant then listed the outstretched hands, the “Bercy dialogues”, her meetings with the group presidents and concluded that her government had “examined fairly” all proposals and ideas. By failing to specify that the executive had never wanted to cross its red lines. Objective ? Lay responsibility for 49.3 on oppositions. Because this procedure, abrupt and sometimes a little theatrical, is not played out in the Hemicycle, but in the face of public opinion. Coating it with good words can sometimes give it a more nuanced hue, a less strident tone.
The reception of the measure by the French will be closely monitored in the days to come. Especially since this 49.3 is probably only the first in a long series. In the worst case, especially if the debates drag on in the Senate, Mme Borne will indeed be obliged to use this procedure ten times before the end of the year (on the two parts of the PLF and on the two parts of the Social Security financing bill in the Assembly, the same in the Senate and once during the two second readings of these texts in the Assembly). Still far from the record set by Michel Rocard, Prime Minister of François Mitterrand (28 uses between 1988 and 1991), but the rate would be high.
A 49.3 “opening”
Aware that this blocked vote is not popular in public opinion, the executive has thought a lot about the right time to use this article of the Constitution. Some of the deputies, tired of endless debates, and some ministers at Bercy, would have liked to go faster. But current social events (shortage of fuel, march by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Sunday October 16, day of interprofessional action, October 18) and the attitude of the opposition, who have taken care not to play one-upmanship on the subject of the number of amendments, gave arguments to Matignon and the Ministry of Relations with Parliament, who wanted to let the discussions take place as much as possible. With four articles voted in a week, the government considered that it could now put an end to the examination of the text, while not giving the impression of being too brutal.
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