The government did not have a majority to have this text adopted in the National Assembly, which governs France’s budgetary trajectory between 2023 and 2027.
The debates lasted less than three hours. Elisabeth Borne resorted to article 49.3 of the Constitution, Wednesday September 27, for the 12th time since she was at Matignon. The Prime Minister decided to hold her government accountable for adopting the 2023-2027 public finance programming law (LPFP), the examination of which began in the evening in the National Assembly.
“No group is ready to vote for this text which is essential to our country. This text has already been rejected at first reading. We need this law to program our public finances. We cannot take the slightest risk”declared the Prime Minister, defending a text of “responsibility”shortly before midnight. Earlier in the day, the Council of Ministers had authorized the use of 49.3 to pass the text, according to information from franceinfo.
The LPFP, not to be confused with the texts which govern the State and Social Security budgets, must define the government’s budgetary trajectory until the end of the five-year term. In particular, it plans to reduce the public deficit from 4.8% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022 to 2.7% in 2027, falling below the European objective of 3%. According to the executive, the rejection of the text would threaten the payment by the European Union to France of 17.8 billion euros over the period 2023-2024.
Nupes announces the filing of a motion of censure
Faced with the absence of a clear majority in favor of the text, the government therefore preferred to play the 49.3 card to “avoid blockages”, as explained by the President of the National Assembly Yaël Braun-Pivet on France 2, Wednesday morning. A first version of this PSSA was rejected in the fall of 2022.
By resorting to article 49.3, Elisabeth Borne exposed herself to the filing of a motion of censure by opposition groups, the adoption of which would force the government to resign. Nupes also announced the filing of a motion of censure, a few minutes after recourse to article 49.3. “The Prime Minister therefore opens the season of authoritarian 49.3, we the Nupes, for our part, open our season of popular censorship”declared MP Mathilde Panot, president of the LFI group in the National Assembly, shortly after midnight.
If this motion is rejected, the LPFP will continue its parliamentary journey with an examination in the Senate. It will be sent back to the National Assembly if the senators modify the government’s copy. A scenario which could force Elisabeth Borne to use, once again, 49.3.