The left-wing NUPES coalition fell well short of the majority required to overthrow the French government after tabling a vote of no confidence on Monday (11 July). The move has positioned NUPES as the main critic of the government.
The motion was announced after Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne refused to organise a vote of confidence following her general Policy Address last week – a move the left-wing opposition saw as a “denial of democracy”, Adrien Quatennens LFI MP said at the time.
However, no one thought the vote of no confidence would pass – not even Mathilde Panot, president of the far left La France Insoumise parliamentary group and NUPES coalition member, who tabled the motion.
“Here comes the moment of truth,” Panot said in a speech on Monday ahead of the vote. “Whomever doesn’t vote in favour of a no confidence vote will signal that they support the government”.
Earlier in the day, the far-right Rassemblement National made it clear they would not support the motion. “The time is not right for puerile political moves” Alexandre Loubet RN MP said. “Unlike the left, we choose to focus first and foremost on what’s right for the country”.
The conservative Les Républicains also said they had no intention of “paralysing” the country and stood ready for “constructive dialogues” with the governing party on a case-by-case basis.
Macron loses majority following Assembly polls
French voters have denied President Emmanuel Macron a parliamentary majority following Sunday’s (19 June) second round of legislative elections, while the left and far-right have made significant advances.
With all parliamentary groups apart from NUPES boycotting the vote, left-wing leaders sought to show they are the only group offering a political alternative. Meanwhile, the government is busy finding “majorities of opportunities” with the extreme right, said Olivier Faure, Secretary General of the Socialist party and an MP.
The NUPES has accused the government of planning to cater to Rassemblement National’s interests, in the hope of getting the support of the extreme right to pass major bill.
An announcement by Home Affairs minister Gérald Darmanin over the weekend to deport all immigrants that commit a crime “irrespective of their legal status” received support from RN leader Marine Le Pen – and added fuel to the left-wing case that the government and the RN are one.
However, a RN MP contacted by EURACTIV confirmed there were no talks with the majority party at this stage.
“The NUPES is angry at the outcome of the vote: they won neither the presidential elections, nor the legislative ones”, Borne said in a speech ahead of the vote.
Macron secured a relative majority at the June legislative elections, with 250 seats, comfortably short of the 289 needed for an absolute majority. The NUPES secured 151 seats and LFI, the largest NUPES party, holds 75.
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Frontal opposition backfires
The NUPES coalition, with LFI at its helm, has been a fierce critic of the government from day 1, and hope that toppling the government could lead to snap elections.
In an interview with EURACTIV earlier this month, Eric Coquerel, LFI MP and President of the influential Finance Committee, said his party would be “a real opposition to the government’s neoliberal agenda”.
There is a risk that this strategy of frontal opposition backfires however, and tensions within the NUPES parties are already palpable.
Communist party national secretary Fabien Roussel, in an interview on Monday (11 July), expressed his disagreements with LFI’s strategy – “we respect parliamentary debates”, he said, arguing he refused to “systematically block” the government.
Socialist MP Boris Vallaud, in a statement delivered at the National Assembly last week, also softened his anti-government stance, showing to willingness to engage with the government “should useful measures be introduced”.
Initial debates over an emergency ‘purchasing power’ bill, which started on Monday, have seen NUPES MPs and pro-Macron counterparts go head-to-head, denouncing each other’s unwillingness to take radical measures to support purchasing power and control rising prices.
The Brief – Macron 2.0 goes Bland on Bland
There’s always electricity in the air when a new government is announced in France. Analysts try to bring to light the symbolism of each nomination and search for political wizardry in every decision. Journalists refresh their address books.
[Edited by Benjamin Fox]
Source: euractiv.com
