why the position of the PS deputies, who support the examination of the text but will vote against its adoption in the Assembly, is criticized

The choice of the socialist deputies was denounced by the presidential camp, which sees it as a “declaration of war” on the institutions.

The highly uncertain impeachment procedure for Emmanuel Macron, initiated over the summer by La France insoumise (LFI), continues. The bureau of the National Assembly decided on Tuesday, September 17, to declare the impeachment motion admissible, which opens the way to an initial debate in the Law Commission. This announcement was expected, because the Socialist deputies, who could swing the body’s decision one way or the other, announced on Monday evening that they would not oppose its examination. But the choice of the PS elected officials is more ambivalent than it seems at first glance.

In their press release, the socialist elected representatives have in fact warned that they would oppose “unanimously to this proposal during its examination in public session”. “To judge a resolution admissible, to agree to debate it is not to approve it. This procedure which requires two thirds of the votes in both assemblies will not succeed, everyone knows that”responded the first secretary of the Socialist Party, Olivier Faure, to a tweet from the leader of La France Insoumise, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who welcomed the upcoming examination of this motion.

This socialist position has attracted the wrath of the presidential camp. “Some people called Olivier Faure a trumpeter. They were wrong. He is a Trumpist.”thus castigated on the social network X the deputy Ensemble pour la République (ex-Renaissance) François Cormier-Bouligeon, regarding the first secretary of the party with the rose. “The Socialist Party has just put a coin in the machine to distort our constitutional procedures and our institutions, of which La France Insoumise has made a deadly specialty.”added his colleague Florent Boudié, also on X. “It’s a joke”even launched the former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, now leader of the Macronist deputies, evoking “a declaration of war on our institutions.”

The critics of the PS group also point out that the socialists have not held the same line in the past. This decision is “in perfect contradiction with the elements that the same socialists rejected when Les Républicains, with Christian Jacob, had filed the same resolution against François Hollande”end of 2016pointed out a member of the central bloc to France Télévisions on Monday evening. At the time, the LR elected officials had tried to launch an impeachment procedure against the socialist president, but the bureau of the National Assembly had deemed it inadmissible. The PS was then in the majority in the hemicycle.

The PS therefore set about trying to defend what appears to be a political ridge line, enacted by a narrow majority: 32 elected representatives declared themselves in favour of the admissibility of the motion, while 28 of their colleagues considered that the office should not validate this procedure on the form. “Because it is up to the Assembly to debate publicly and not a closed meeting to decide on the advisability of the debate, we will vote for the admissibility of this proposal”defended the socialist deputy Arthur Delaporte on X. “As Lionel Jospin said, we are not here to destabilize our institutions, but also not here to prevent political debates”added on the same social network the PS mayor of Alfortville (Val-de-Marne), Luc Carvounas.

“We have decided to think about it legally. We believe it is necessary for this debate to take place openly.”justified the PS deputy Inaki Echaniz on Tuesday, in front of journalists at the National Assembly. “From a legal point of view, there was no obvious argument to oppose admissibility and not respect the law, because not everything is political”his colleague Laurent Baumel extended to franceinfo, while recalling his opposition to the procedure on the merits.

“Personally, I consider impeachment to be a bad answer to a good question about Emmanuel Macron’s responsibility.”

Laurent Baumel, socialist deputy

to franceinfo

The PS will therefore not support the initiative of La France insoumise, relayed by the ecologists and the communists, which must now be examined by the law committee. In this body of the National Assembly, the socialists will vote against the resolution proposal, as will those of the presidential bloc and part of the right. In total, according to the count of franceinfo, even with the support of all the elected representatives of the National Rally who sit on it, the committee should reject the text. As provided for by law, the resolution proposal must then be “entered into the agenda of the meeting no later than the thirteenth day following the conclusions of the committee. The vote takes place no later than the fifteenth day”it is written. In the meantime, supporters of impeachment do not intend to ease the pressure on the head of state.