Victor Chabert, edited by Thibault Nadal
modified to
7:30 p.m., July 11, 2022
It was an expected decision. The National Assembly on Monday rejected the Nupes left-wing alliance’s no-confidence motion against the government, which was only approved by 146 deputies. “This motion of no confidence will serve as a political clarification” for those in the opposition, the leader of the LFI group Mathilde Panot had previously pleaded against Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne. But this motion had arithmetically very little chance of succeeding, since only the 146 deputies out of 151 of the Nupes will this motion of censure, while 289 were necessary to make Elisabeth Borne resign
Bollard attacked frontally by Panot
However, this day gave the Prime Minister a foretaste of what the atmosphere would be like in the hemicycle under this legislature, with multiple passes of arms. First of all, Mathilde Panot, leader of the rebellious deputies who presented the motion of censure, attacked the legitimacy of Elisabeth Borne head-on: “You therefore do not draw your legitimacy either from the legislative elections, or even from Parliament, to which you did not ask if he trusted you to lead the policy of the nation. In other words, you are in this function a democratic anomaly” she launched.
Elisabeth Borne rose to the podium in stride to respond to attacks from Mathilde Panot, denouncing “a posture motion” and defending its legitimacy. “Your motion of censure speaks of legitimacy. So, I fully agree and I may teach you this, you did not win either the presidential or the legislative elections. In a democracy, it is not the one who has fewer votes, the one who has fewer seats, who is legitimate to govern,” said the Prime Minister.
Heated debates between the RN and the Nupes
But this afternoon, in the hemicycle, it was not only tense between the majority and the Nupes, but also between the Nupes and the RN. It is out of the question for the party of Marine Le Pen to leave the place of first opposition to Emmanuel Macron to the union of the left.
Alexandre Loubet, RN deputy for Moselle – while hitting the government – also vigorously took on the Nupes. “You are the heirs of this extreme left which does not want to govern, which has always hated the Fifth Republic and which wants to destroy it. Your motion of censure is in no way intended to defend France and the French, but only to make advance your deconstruction project. So do not count on the deputies of the National Rally”, he declared in front of the hemicycle.
Who will benefit from this deal?
The RN, like the Republicans, therefore did not vote for the motion of censure. With this maneuver, the Nupes wanted to attempt a political coup and be the number one opponent to the government. But it is quite possible that in the eyes of the French, this case gives legitimacy to Elisabeth Borne. They have just recalled that a majority, even a relative one, remains a majority.