Vote of confidence: "self-dissolution", "resignation"... Bayrou faces a wall of opposition

A "risky" gamble or a "dignified" gesture? Faced with the "gravity" of the budgetary situation, François Bayrou announced on Monday, August 25, that he will seek a vote of confidence from the National Assembly on Monday, September 8. "I will engage the government's responsibility on that day with a general policy statement, in accordance with Article 49-1 of our Constitution," the Prime Minister affirmed. This approach implies that if it fails, the government will fall.

The Prime Minister's announcement sparked a flurry of political reactions. The "common base" (210 central bloc deputies, excluding Liot) is expected to support him, but attention will focus on the other parties participating in the election.

On the left, the rejection is unequivocal. Jean-Luc Mélenchon praised François Bayrou 's "dignified response" to request a vote of confidence, but he believes that "chaos is Macron ." For the rebellious leader, "Macron must be prevented from appointing a prime minister for the third time who would pursue the same policy. That's why he must be removed. The issue is Mr. Macron; he must go."

LFI and the Communist Party immediately announced that they would vote "against" the confidence vote. "The rebellious parliamentarians will vote on September 8 to bring down the government," wrote Manuel Bompard, the LFI coordinator. The same tone came from Léon Deffontaines, the PCF spokesperson: "On September 8, we must bring down this government."

The Greens are following the same line. Marine Tondelier denounced a vote "which is in fact a resignation." According to the party's national secretary, "François Bayrou thinks he can leave as a misunderstood hero. We have no confidence in this Prime Minister who is carrying out a project that is both socially and environmentally irresponsible. We will vote against it."

The Socialists leave little more room for doubt. Olivier Faure considered it "unimaginable that the Socialists would vote confidence in the Prime Minister." The First Secretary of the Socialist Party considers that François Bayrou has "chosen to leave," calling his initiative "self-dissolution." The president of the Socialist Party group in the Assembly, Boris Vallaud, echoed X : "Unfulfilled commitments, provocative proposals, refusal of compromise... After creating the conditions for distrust, François Bayrou is requesting a "vote of confidence." The Socialists will vote against."

Place publique , Raphaël Glucksmann's party, also announced that it "can only refuse its confidence a priori to a government which exempts itself from republican dialogue."

On the far right, Marine Le Pen assured that the RN would "obviously vote against confidence in François Bayrou's government." For the RN leader, "only dissolution will now allow the French to choose their destiny."

Jordan Bardella added that his party "will never vote for confidence in a government whose choices make the French people suffer," predicting "the end of the government" during the vote. Sébastien Chenu, vice-president of the RN, denounced "a last-ditch maneuver" and called for "a return to the people, asking the French people for the choice of the policy they want to pursue."

The UDR, a party from the sovereignist right , also reacted strongly on social media: "We will categorically refuse to give confidence to a government and a majority that have led France down the path to bankruptcy. The budget presented by François Bayrou is in line with his past choices, he who got François Hollande and Emmanuel Macron elected, little fathers of debt," the group castigated on X.

Faced with this avalanche of hostile reactions, ministers are trying to defend the Prime Minister's gamble. Economy Minister Éric Lombard assured that he was "in the fight" to convince: "We are working to convince people to have this majority on September 8. Political life is full of surprises." Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister of Foreign Affairs, praised an "act of courage and lucidity," believing that François Bayrou "is asking Parliament to take responsibility and say whether or not France is on the verge of over-indebtedness."

The President of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet , defended the "overall vision" of the savings plan of nearly 44 billion euros proposed by the Prime Minister in July: "any political party that aspires to govern our country cannot refuse to reduce the debt, that would be totally irresponsible."

Others within the majority acknowledge the uncertainty of the deadline. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin warned that "we should not rule out the possibility of the National Assembly being dissolved in the event of the government falling."