Guillaume Perrault: "In 1962, this day when a motion of censure succeeded"

Sixty years ago almost to the day - it was October 4, 1962 - the National Assembly adopted the only motion of censure that has succeeded to date under the Fifth Republic, resulting in the resignation of Prime Minister Georges Pompidou and his government. as well as, in response, the dissolution of the Assembly by the President of the Republic, Charles de Gaulle, and early legislative elections making universal suffrage the arbiter of this violent conflict.

At a time when the threat of a motion of censure – however unlikely its adoption – followed by dissolution is mentioned on the occasion of the pension reform, this episode in our political history deserves to be told.

Prime Minister, go and tell the Elysée that our admiration for the past is intact, but that this Assembly is not degenerate enough to deny the Republic

Paul Reynaud, at the podium of the Palais Bourbon, October 4, 1962

The France of 1962 emerged with great difficulty from the Algerian war and its procession of tragedies.

On August 22, 1962, de Gaulle narrowly escaped the Petit-Clamart attack, which stunned the country.

Judging the moment favorable to complete the work undertaken in 1958, the founder of the Fifth Republic announced a…

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