While Prime Minister Gabriel Attal delivers his general policy speech this Tuesday, several political families plan to table a motion of censure in the process.
This Tuesday, January 30, Gabriel Attal will deliver his general policy speech (DPG) to the National Assembly at around 3 p.m. Under the fire of farmers’ anger for ten days, the Prime Minister is also eagerly awaited in Parliament. His 14 ministers should be there to support him in front of the hemicycle. In the absence of an absolute majority, the speech will not be followed by a vote of confidence. Indeed, out of 577 deputies, 329 are part of the opposition.
Traditionally, the DPG is followed by a vote of confidence in Parliament. This vote is won if the Prime Minister obtains an absolute majority. Otherwise, the government must in principle resign. This procedure is not obligatory. As a reminder, Élisabeth Borne did not take responsibility for her government after her DPG, due to a lack of a sufficient majority in July 2022.
The left will table a motion of censure this Tuesday afternoon
The left is already in the starting blocks, ready to table a motion of censure. Indeed, this motion of censure, “signed by LFI, ecologists, PC, PS, will be tabled Tuesday afternoon” according to information from France Info. For the moment, it has not been formally recorded at a group meeting, even if a text has already been put together before Gabriel Attal takes the podium.
The left wants in particular to sanction the fact that the Prime Minister does not take responsibility for his government after his DPG. “The Nupes intends to make it a motion of no confidence. It is counting on an examination in the hemicycle on Thursday” reports France Info. Indeed, a certain period of time must always be respected between submission and examination.
It is “possible” that the RN will file its “own motion of censure”
But the left is not alone in this situation. The National Rally also reserves the right to table a motion of censure following Gabriel Attal’s DPG. “It is possible that we table our own motion of censure” indicates Laurent Jacobelli, spokesperson for the RN this Tuesday on France Info.
The deputy for Moselle did not wish to indicate whether or not the RN will join the motion of no confidence which will be tabled by the left. “Voting a motion of censure from the left does not amount to associating with the left,” he declared, however. So, should we expect a motion of censure specific to the National Rally? Once again, Laurent Jacobelli tempers. The RN deputies “will listen to the general policy speech”. After “the speech, we will decide what we will do.”
Republicans remain behind
On the Republican side, there is no real intention to vote for this motion of censure. They will vote “neither confidence nor censure” affirmed the president of the party Éric Ciotti on January 15. In the meantime, the Constitutional Council has censored nearly 40 % of the immigration law, including numerous measures labeled LR and imposed on the majority until then. What could change the situation? Not really. “We are reserving ourselves for the future” indicated this week an LR leader to France Info. “The answer to what they did will come at some point,” he continues. “I still prefer Attal to Mélenchon Prime Minister” even confided an LR deputy to our colleagues at France Info this Tuesday.
In reality, the government has little chance of being overthrown by the left despite the filing of a motion of censure on its part. To be adopted, it must necessarily be voted on by the RN and LR. On the other hand, if the Republicans do not seem inclined to vote on a motion of censure after the Prime Minister’s speech, a frank response to the episode of the immigration law, which largely offended the right, could come in the coming weeks.