La France Insoumise seizes the Constitutional Council to contest the accumulation of mandates of resigning ministers

The rebellious are turning to the Sages. Mathilde Panot, the president of the La France insoumise group in the National Assembly, announced on Thursday, August 29 and confirmed on franceinfo on Friday that she would refer the matter to the Constitutional Council on behalf of the “violation of the separation of powers”because resigning ministers are also serving as MPs.

Seventeen ministers from the resigning government, including Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, were elected as deputies in the early legislative elections of June 30 and July 7, 2024, thus combining the two functions. A situation described as “particularly worrying” by Mathilde Panot, who asked the Constitutional Council to “clarify these statutes”.

“The result of the vote for the presidency of the Assembly was swung by the votes of the 17 resigning ministers while the gap with the candidacy of the New Popular Front was only 13 votes”writes Mathilde Panot in a letter addressed to Laurent Fabius, president of the Constitutional Council.

For the rebellious elected official, the resigning government “abuses his powers and does not limit himself to dealing with current affairs” having taken 1,300 decrees and orders since July 18, some “far exceeding” the prerogatives “normal for a resigning government.” Practices “serious”believes Mathilde Panot. The MP recalls that “Parliament is deprived of the possibility of overthrowing the government” in the absence of an appointment by Emmanuel Macron.

The question of the participation of resigning ministers in votes in the chamber has not been resolved. Article 23 of the Constitution establishes that the functions of member of the government with the exercise of any parliamentary mandate are incompatible. But the organic law of 11 October 2013 seems to open the door to an accumulation in the case of a resigning government.