Even they didn’t believe it. The motion of censure tabled by the deputies of Nupes on Wednesday July 6, a few minutes before the declaration of general policy by Elisabeth Borne who refused to submit to the vote of confidence, was rejected without much surprise on Monday July 11. She only collected 146 votes in her favor – the left alliance has 151 deputies – far from the absolute majority of 289 votes necessary. The Republicans and the National Rally had warned that they would not support it. But, for the left, the stake was elsewhere.
The vote without suspense however took place in a tense, although sparse hemicycle. When the president of the group of La France insoumise speaks at the podium, she navigates between the invectives of the RN, and sometimes of the presidential majority, and the applause of her camp. “Those who do not vote for the motion of censure are supporters of your policy”, warns Mathilde Panot. This is the whole point of this stab in the water: the left is betting on this vote to strengthen itself as the only force in opposition to Emmanuel Macron. “This vote shows that there is a structured opposition, it’s us,” agrees Sandra Regol, Green MP.
“You didn’t win” the elections, retorts Elisabeth Borne. ” You neither ! he is reminded on his left. The Prime Minister, who wants to “build compromises”, waves the threat of blocking, castigating a motion that would “obstruct parliamentary work”. She is thus annoyed by a waste of time debating the censorship of her government, which would prevent progress on the “everyday subjects” which concern the French, while the purchasing power law must soon be examined. by deputies.
On the right of the hemicycle, we take refuge behind the same arguments to justify a delicate balancing act, that of being in opposition, but not to vote for the motion, LR and RN wanting at all costs to avoid appear to be responsible for blocking the Assembly. Seeing the trap of “opposition labels” that the Nupes would like to affix at the end of this vote, Michèle Tabarot (LR) defends herself – “we have never been caught out” – and warns the government “You don’t have our defiance today, but you still don’t have our trust. »
By pushing this motion of censure at all costs, the Nupes may well have offered an implicit vote of confidence in the government. It was also the fear of the most cautious in the intergroup, such as the vice-president (PS) Valérie Rabault, who publicly expressed her reservations about the strategy the previous week. On the Communist side, whose relations with the Nupes are far from fluid, Fabien Roussel regretted a motion tabled a priori, not political enough for his taste.
This afternoon, the left hopes to have marked the media point. “We are doing pedagogy”, summarizes Olivier Faure, who now places all deputies outside Nupes in the majority. “These are those who support the government, but also those who, tacitly, gradually, become its auxiliaries. »
