An hour has passed since the results were announced. From the steps of the Hôtel de Matignon, Gabriel Attal speaks. With red eyes and a choked voice, the youngest Prime Minister of the Fifth Republic bows to republican custom. “The political party that I represented in this campaign […] does not have a majority. Thus, […] I will submit my resignation to the President of the Republic tomorrow morning.”
Resignation refused at the end of the morning by Emmanuel Macron, who asked Gabriel Attal to remain in office “for the moment”, in order to “ensure the stability of the country”. The same head of state who, alone, took three weeks earlier the decision of a dissolution that Gabriel Attal had, he declared on Sunday July 7, “not chosen” but that he “refused to undergo”. But then, why decide to keep a leader of the presidential majority who was in the minority the day before?
At first glance, the answer is quite simple: the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games is in less than three weeks. The budget must be voted on in the fall. And for the time being, no single group can claim a clear majority. Forming a government or project coalition does not seem to be easy either. Succeeding in forming one could take several weeks, or even months, according to some constitutional experts.
A rule of more than 70 years
In the event of the Prime Minister’s resignation, and pending the appointment of a new government, the executive would limit itself to “dealing with current affairs”, according to the established formula. In the jargon of lawyers, we even speak of a “government for the management of current affairs”. In other words, no major decision engaging the political responsibility of the government could be taken. In this matter, a seventy-two-year-old case law of the Council of State serves as a reference. In 1952, the Council of State annulled an implementing decree issued by a provisional government on the grounds that it could not be regarded as current affairs in the interest of the necessary continuity of public services. However, the case here is different, precisely because Gabriel Attal’s resignation was refused.
A president at the mercy of a hostile Assembly?
Concretely, in the case of a government managing day-to-day affairs, the Prime Minister and his “interim” ministers would have seen their prerogatives reduced to nothing. Thus, they would not have been able to initiate any reforms, submit any bills, or issue any orders. Also, appointments to key positions in the administration would have been difficult to justify.
We now understand better why the master of clocks prefers to keep his hands free for a while longer. But is a head of state humiliated at the end of a vote that he himself called for totally free? “Emmanuel Macron has no room for maneuver,” explained public law professor Thomas Clay to L’Express on Sunday evening. The government that he confirmed this morning may well remain an executive in its own right, but its fate is nonetheless suspended by parliamentary groups that are only waiting for one thing: to decapitate him.
By a motion of censure in particular, which could be tabled as soon as the parliamentary session resumes on July 18. Thus, we could speak of a resigning government if it obtains an absolute majority. In this case, “it is not impossible that new case law could emanate from the Council of State which would provide more precise elements on the notion of current affairs”, anticipates Guillaume Drago.
The previous Alexandre Millerand
And for good reason, the configurations of the different cohabitations under the Fifth Republic did not encourage the administrative judge to update his decision on the matter. “Unlike today, after each dissolution, a more or less clear majority emerged, making the designation of a Prime Minister relatively simple, and therefore the formation of a government quick,” the constitutionalist adds.
Jacques Chirac, for example, was appointed just four days after the right’s victory in the early legislative elections of March 1986. The appointment of Edouard Balladur in 1993 was even quicker. The former Minister of Economy, Finance and Privatization was made Prime Minister the day after the second round of voting. The same goes for Lionel Jospin, who was appointed on June 2, less than forty-eight hours after the results of the vote.
Twenty-seven years later, we will have to wait before knowing the name of Gabriel Attal’s successor. “Be careful, we shouldn’t wait too long either,” whispers a caped profile. At the risk of alienating almost the entire hemicycle of the Palais Bourbon, and of suffering the same fate as Alexandre Millerand. This president of the Third Republic was forced to resign a few weeks after being put in the minority in the Chamber of Deputies. A period of time during which he had established “a test of strength” with the latter. That was a century ago. “History is a cycle that repeats itself,” evil tongues are already professing. Another wonders: “Is the late Jupiter even aware of it?”