It becomes a ritual. Whenever a Prime Minister decides on the implementation of article 49 paragraph 3 of the Constitution, it is an outcry. Everyone - in the opposition, in the media, but also in the majority - choruses to storm against this "act of brutality", this "denial of Parliament". In recent days, we readily show the images of Edouard Philippe, then a Juppeist deputy, vehemently protesting against the socialist Manuel Valls who, tenant of Matignon, had activated the lethal weapon.
Remember, however, that 49.3 is one of the most important articles of the Constitution. It is part of the arsenal of rationalized parliamentarism, wanted by Michel Debré, which made the difference between the Fifth Republic and the two previous ones. At the time, the dignitaries of all the parties, including the socialists, approved this measure, weary that they were of the French parliamentarism which prevented the government from governing and from lasting. Certainly there was
This article is for subscribers only. You still have 68% to discover.
Subscribe: € 1 for 2 months
cancellable at any time
Enter your emailAlready subscribed? Login