Lecornu II Government: Macron Warns that he will Dissolve the Assembly if the Government is Censored

THE MOMENT OF TRUTH: Emmanuel Macron warns against motions of censure by declaring that they are “motions of dissolution and must be seen as such”, calling for “institutional stability” and a sense of “compromise”

The motions of censure, which is basically a vote of confidence, are “motions of dissolution and must be seen as such”, warned Emmanuel Macron Council of Ministers. The President of the Republic calls for “institutional stability” and a sense of “compromise”, according to government spokesperson Maud Bregeon.

The two extreme parties of the left and the right, France insoumise and the Rassemblement national have already announced their intention to each table a motion of censure. The Socialist Party also reserves the right to do so, if the 2023 pension reform is not suspended “immediately and completely”.

Macron puts pressure on the PS

For a motion of censure to be adopted, the text must be voted on by an absolute majority of those elected to the National Assembly, i.e. 289 votes out of the 577 deputies who sit in the hemicycle. The groups Rassemblement national (123), Union of Rights for the Republic (16), La France insoumise, (71 deputies), Ecologist and Social (38), Democratic and Republican Left (17) will a priori vote for censorship. That’s a total of 265 votes. To reach the necessary 289, the position of the PS will therefore be crucial. The future of the government and now the composition of the National Assembly will depend on the socialists.

If “it doesn’t go well this week, we are heading towards a serious institutional crisis. Dissolution will become inevitable, insisted a little later Sébastien Lecornu. The Prime Minister invited deputies from the government camp, including LR, to Matignon before delivering his general policy declaration.

Towards a “social right” discourse?

According to his entourage, the tenant of Matignon promised to deliver a speech before the Assembly of “social right” and “exit from the crisis”, while his commitments on pension reform will dictate the conduct of the socialists, who hold the key on the vote of no confidence.

Tuesday morning, Sébastien Lecornu once again went to the Elysée to consult Emmanuel Macron then attended the first Council of Ministers of his government, which adopted the draft budgets of the State and Social Security so that they are transmitted on time to Parliament.

The draft state budget, which should be largely modified by Parliament, proposes an effort of around thirty billion euros and is based on “optimistic” growth hypotheses in 2026, according to the High Council of Public Finances.

It is from 3 p.m. that everything will be decided from the podium of the Assembly with the Prime Minister’s general policy declaration, which will be “short” and “will put Parliament at the heart of everything”, according to those around him. The group leaders will then be able to respond to him before he speaks one last time.