The government of Gabriel Attal, which delivers its general policy declaration on Tuesday, “is on reprieve” for LR deputies who brandish the threat of a motion of censure which could bring it down within a few “weeks”. “Very clearly, the government today is on borrowed time,” declared Les Républicains deputy Pierre-Henri Dumont, a close friend of the troublemaker Aurélien Pradié, to journalists at the Assembly.
“The idea of a motion of censure is gaining ground within the LR group”
“More than ever, the Republicans are in opposition,” he added, citing as points of disagreement “the question of immigration, questions of non-compliance with European law and attacks against our farmers” . The LR deputies “are absolutely ready to table a motion of censure”. We have to “find the right moment for (LR) politically”, it’s a matter of “weeks”.
Scalded by the censorship by the Constitutional Council of most of the measures that the party had integrated into the immigration law, the group needs 58 of its 62 deputies to table a motion of censure. Those who are most in favor must convince the most Macron-compatible to bring down the executive. The president of the group Olivier Marleix dodged the question during a press conference, ensuring that he first wanted to listen to Gabriel Attal’s general policy statement.
“It is certain that a year and a half ago, I gave Élisabeth Borne a relatively kind speech. (…) But very clearly, recent news (…) puts us in a difficult situation. other provisions, undoubtedly a little less friendly (…)”, he warned. “There is a need for opposition gestures that can be more explicit and stronger,” added Olivier Marleix, then addressing the members of his group who are pleading for an alliance with the majority.
“Some (…) in my political family were waiting for an outstretched hand (from Emmanuel Macron). There, they took a hand in the face,” he noted, in reference to the immigration law. “The idea of a motion of censure is gaining ground within the LR group,” confirmed a Les Républicains executive. During the pension reform, the motion tabled by Liot’s independents was supported by 19 LR deputies, against the advice of the party leadership. The government of Élisabeth Borne had avoided censorship by 9 votes.