Third rejection in a row. The motion of censure filed by the Nupes after the use of 49.3 on the Social Security budget was rejected on Monday evening, October 24, for not having reached the absolute majority (289 votes) necessary to bring down the government. The motion received only 150 votes. Prior to that, MPs rejected two other no-confidence motions, tabled after the government used Rule 49.3 on the 2023 budget.
In order, a first motion tabled by the Nupes was rejected after having collected 239 favorable votes, a high but insufficient score. Subsequently, a second motion, filed by the RN this time, collected only 90 votes and was also rejected. The examination of these texts gave rise to electric debates in the hemicycle, although these various motions had, in theory, no chance of obtaining an absolute majority and of being adopted.
The motivations for these different no-confidence motions diverged, but overlapped in places. The president of the environmental group Cyrielle Chatelain presented the motion of censure of the left against a budget “climatically irresponsible”. Subsequently, Marine Le Pen, on behalf of the RN, defended another text which reproaches the government for a “denial of democracy”after using 49.3. Finally, the ecologist deputy Marie-Charlotte Garin presented the motion of censure of the Nupes on the draft budget of the Sécu as a reaction to a “abuse of power” of the Borne government.
At the end of the joint discussions, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne came to provide the government’s response. “Censorship cannot just be a posture, we must assume the consequences, (…) RN and Nupes, I do not imagine for a moment that you will be able to govern together”, she declared in particular in front of the hemicycle. Before returning to the load, a few hours later: “You don’t have an alternative majority to govern, you don’t have an alternative text to propose. Faced with each challenge, your response is disorder, inaction!”she launched to the Nupes deputies.