The ultimate weapon of the 49.3 has therefore been unsheathed. This Thursday, at the end of a last meeting between Emmanuel Macron and Élisabeth Borne, the decision was taken to trigger this controversial article of the Constitution, allowing the adoption, without a vote, of the pension reform. After a favorable vote of the senators in the morning, the government did not wish to take the risk of submitting the bill to a vote of the Assembly.
Uncertainty around Republican support
For the executive, the outcome of the ballot was too uncertain. Until the end, Emmanuel Macron hesitated, consulted and hoped to see an absolute majority emerge on this text with a comfortable margin of error. It was a condition sine qua non to bring the bill to a vote. In other words, the head of state wanted to be sure to obtain the support of a large number of elected Republicans, which never happened.
And this despite the crisis meetings which have multiplied at the Élysée since Wednesday evening and the very late decision of Emmanuel Macron, only 15 minutes before the start of the public session at the Assembly. Finally, it is indeed the option of 49.3 which was chosen by the executive. Before the members of his government, hastily assembled in the Council of Ministers, President Macron justified himself by stating that “[son] political interest would have been to go to the vote”. And to continue: “But I consider that in the state, the financial and economic risks are too great”.
“I assume to be a fuse”
A decision which in fact places Elisabeth Borne on an ejection seat. “I assume to be a fuse”, even slipped the person concerned with Emmanuel Macron. By engaging the responsibility of her government with this 49.3, she exposes herself to a risk of falling in the event that a motion of censure is passed. And even if this scenario never sees the light of day, the image of the Prime Minister is seriously damaged.
As a reminder, her appointment to Matignon had been justified in the Macronist ranks by her reputation as a politician experienced in consultation and social dialogue. Enough to reinforce the feeling of failure around this 49.3 for Elisabeth Borne, who has been repeating in recent weeks that she does not want to come to this. The question now arises of the continuation of Macron’s five-year term and how he can get out of this political crisis.