France : All facts about the constitutional article 49.3

The article 49.3 allows to bypass the french parliament

Article 49.3 of the french constitution authorizes the Prime Minister of France to implement a law without the approval of the members of parliament. He can use this article for a budget law or a social security financing law. In addition, the chief of the french government  can employ the article for one other project or law proposal by session.

This particular legislative maneuver can be contested by the french parliament by a motion of censure, according to article 49.2 of the constitution. Its functioning will be explained below.

The history of the use of the article 49.3 in France

From 1958 until december 2024 there have been 113 usages of this article. There are prime ministers that did not use it at all, as for example Jacques Chirac, Lionel Jospin or François Fillon. The record in absolute numbers is held by Michel Rocard (under president François Mitterand), who used it 28 times.  

Since the start of the presidency of Emmanuel Macron in 2017, this procedure has been applied very often too. The former prime minister Elisabeth Borne alone used it 23 times during her mandate, which lasted for just 20 months.

The article 49.2 defines a motion of censure by the french parliament

A motion of censure according to article 49.2 can be initiated if it is signed by at least 10% of the members of parliament. Each delegate has a limited number of motions he can sign : maximum 3 motions of censure during the same ordinary session, and maximum one during the same extraordinary session.

The earliest date for the vote is 48 hours afters its filing. The validation of a motion of censure requires the approval by at least 50% of the deputies. If the approval is obtained, then the article 50 of the constitution is triggered – and the Prime Minister has to announce to the president the resignation of the government.

Thus, the motion of censure is a legitimate tool for the french parliament. The use of this tool is not even a rare phenomenon in history. Indeed, the use of the article 49.3 by the prime minister does often initiate the procedure of a request for a motion of censure by the opposition.

What is rare with a motion of no confidence is not its use, but its success.

The last time a motion of censure was approved by +50% of the deputies, had been in 1962 under the prime minister Georges Pompidou, in the context of a modification of the electoral system of the french president, realized by Charles de Gaulle.

In december 2024 the successful validation of a motion of censure happened again. This time it concerned the Prime Minister Michel Barnier.

2024 : Resignation of Prime Minister Michel Barnier after a motion of censure

Michel Barnier’s adoption of the law proposal for the Social Security Budget 2025 by using the article 49.3 had provoked a motion of no confidence according to article 49.2. This motion of censure was successfully approved by 331 deputies of the french Assemblée Nationale, which belong to the parties Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP) and Rassemblement national (RN).

Barnier resigned after the result of the vote. He has become the prime minister with the shortest term in the history of France’s 5th Republic – only 91 days.

France had 4 different Prime Ministers in 2024 : Elisabeth Borne, Gabriel Attal, Michel Barnier, and his successor François Bayrou. 

President Macron disapproved the motion of censure 2024

In early december 2024, Emmanuel Macron reacted to the new situation in a public speech to the french people

The president employed hard terms to denounce the motion of censure :

« The government has received the motion of censure, which has never happened since 60 years, because the far right and the far left synergized to form an anti-republican coalition, and because persons which – still yesterday – participated in governments in France – have decided to help them. (…) The project of disorder unites the far right and the far left, with the endorsement of the rest of the Nouveau Front Populaire movement. » (Emmanuel Macron, december 2024)

Remember : A motion of censure is a legitimate tool according to article 49.2 of the french constitution, just as is the article 49.3.

In his TV speech, Macron addressed the challenges he had to face after the last elections in France in 2024 :

With the european elections of june 2024 his Renaissance party did only get 15,2% of the votes. Subsequently Macron requested new parliamentary elections for july 2024, which did not allow him to obtain a parliament majority. The electoral coalition « Ensemble » – which houses as well the Renaissance party – got only 150 of 577 seats in the national parliament.

Macron explained to have chosen Michel Barnier (who is considered to be a « right wing » politician) as prime minister, because he appeared to be able to assemble a sufficient number of deputies around his projects. The next prime minister after Barnier should have the task to form a new government of « common public interest » – it would finally be François Bayrou.

Macron in 2025 : A president with fading popularity

In his TV speech, President Macron interpreted the motion of censure of 2024 as an attempt of the opposition to provoke new presidential elections.

The popularity of Macron among the french citizens is indeed a delicate subject. 

With the presidential election of 2022, Emmanuel Macron got 58,55 % of the votes, against Marine Le Pen with 41,45 %. This is less than in 2017, when Macron harvested 66,10 %, while Le Pen obtained 33,9 %.

According to an opinion poll from december 2024, quoted by the french journal « Le Point », 54% of the French wish that Macron resigns from power, and that new presidential elections be held in 2025

Some opposition politicians even tried to claim a dismissal of Macron. However, a respective request by 81 parliament deputies (most of them belonging to the party La France Insoumise of Jean-Luc Melenchon) failed in october 2024.

The necessary conditions for a dismissal of the president are listed in article 68 of the french constitution. A dismissal is possible if there is a violation of the official tasks which is incompatible with the exercice of the mandate, and with an approval by two thirds of the members of parliament.

But, Emmanuel Macron rules out any resignation from power in his speech from 5th december 2024 :

« The mandate with which you entrusted me in a democratic procedure, is a mandate for 5 years, and I will carry it out until its official end. » (President Macron, december 2024)

Reminding that he is not eligible to run again as a presidential candidate in new elections (art. 6 of the french constitution prohibits more than two consecutive mandates), Mister Macron insisted during his speech on the point that there are « still 30 months of action « in front of him to work – for the nation, for Europe and for the climate.

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