Motion of no confidence pushed by French opposition against PM

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
20 Oct 2022 00:18
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The perfectly legal clause allowed the French PM to pass the bill without lawmakers’ approval and justified her decision on the basis that her cabinet was working on a busy schedule.

Vote of no confidence pushed by French opposition against PM

In light of the recent move in which Macron's government rammed its 2023 budget through Parliament without casting a vote, the French opposition, both left and right parties, said they would file motions of no confidence against Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne.

While engaging the responsibility of her government, the French Prime Minister announced earlier today the use of clause 49.3 of the French constitution, a rarely used constitutional power, to push the 2023 budget bill through the lower house of parliament.

The perfectly legal clause allowed Borne to pass the bill without lawmakers’ approval and justified her decision on the basis that her cabinet was working on a busy schedule.

France's leftist coalition, Nupes, who lost its majority in parliament after elections is June, announced they would lodge a vote of no confidence against Borne, according to Mathilde Panot, member of La France Insoumise.

"We are here to reiterate that we refuse to settle with the 49.3 method. We will not govern France by using 49.3, which is why Nupes is lodging a motion of no-confidence," Panot told reporters in Paris.

In the Tweet published below, Panot tells reporters "Macronism has become authoritarian. As we know, the Prime Minister did not resort to the Parliament's vote of confidence. As we know, the government had decided to requisition strikers against the right to strike which nonetheless exists in this country. As we know, the current government and the one preceding it violently and extremely repressed demonstrations. But now we have clear proof that they once again chose brutality."

"We are here to reaffirm that we refuse to get accustomed to the method of 49.3 [...] We do not govern France with blows of 49.3. That is why NUPES has decided to file a motion of no confidence" she added.

🔴 49.3 : le Macronisme est un autoritarisme.

Nous déposons une motion de censure contre le gouvernement. #MotionDeCensure #DirectAn pic.twitter.com/FOrunaQssJ
— Mathilde Panot (@MathildePanot) October 19, 2022

The leader of the far-right National Rally, Marine LePen, said she too would push ahead for a motion of no confidence on behalf of her party, adding that the government’s disregard of national representatives "speaks volumes about their vision of democracy."

Over the past month, oil refinery workers have been protesting to earn a 10% pay raise as well as the indexing of 2022 wages to match the record-breaking inflation.

Oil giants ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies have amassed massive amounts of wealth after a price surge allowed the companies to commission big dividends to board members and additional special dividends to their investors.

Workers from various sectors, including the energy and nuclear sectors, public transport, agri-food, banking, and commerce sectors, as well as education and public healthcare sectors, took part in the strikes.

On October 11, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne unapologetically told oil refinery workers that they need to "learn how to stop a strike" and further threatened workers that the government was prepared to use force to order staff at depots run by Exxon's Esso France unit back to work, with similar measures possible at Total depots if wage talks don't lead to a solution.

The CGT union called the government's plans violent and suspended all ongoing negotiations with it.

Earlier today, French government spokesman Olivier Véran that the authorities recognized citizens right to protest, but that now was the "worst moment" for impeding the government's normal operations since inflation and the energy crisis have already made life more challenging for the French people.

"We call for responsibility: Europe is at war. We are facing unprecedented climate challenges, the immediate need to solve the energy crisis, inflation that the government is fighting and unemployment. Yes, we need to discuss the level of wages and working conditions — we welcome social dialogue. However, we believe that now is not the time to call for a blockade of the state and interfere with the functioning of our economy. Now, without a doubt, is the worst moment for this," Veran said.