The case was decided in mid-January.
In front of the assembled presidential majority, Gabriel Attal announced that he would renounce the traditional vote of confidence in the National Assembly.
A choice dictated by the absence of an absolute majority, which does not, however, exempt him from the perilous exercise of the declaration of general policy.
On Tuesday, the Prime Minister will therefore face the benches of the Lower House, where the echoes of the inauguration speeches of his predecessors continue to vibrate.
A look back at these general policy declarations which marked the Fifth Republic.
1959: Michel Debré inaugurates the republican rite
Father of the 1958 Constitution, Michel Debré inaugurated the practice on January 15, 1959. An exercise which is more a republican rite than a legal obligation, as provided in article 49 paragraph 1 of the Constitution:
“The Prime Minister, after deliberation of the Council of Ministers, commits before the National Assembly the responsibility of the Government on its program or possibly on a declaration of general policy.
Embarrassed by a relative majority, the Prime Minister of Charles de Gaulle nevertheless seeks the confidence of the deputies after a speech largely oriented towards the new institutions of the Fifth Republic and Algeria, the government's
“absolute priority”
.
Michel Debré will be easily reinforced in his new functions, obtaining the approval of 453 deputies for 56 votes against.
A confirmation made possible thanks to the alliance of some 200 deputies from the UNR, the Gaullist party, with other political groups.
1969: the
“new society”
of Jacques Chaban-Delmas
A year earlier, young people took over the streets and shook the Gaullist regime.
On September 16, 1969, before the representatives of the Nation, Jacques Chaban-Delmas attempted to provide an ambitious response to the events of May 68:
“a new society”
.
During a general policy declaration which was to remain the most famous of the Fifth Republic, Prime Minister Georges Pompidou promised to modernize a
"society blocked"
by the
"fragility of our economy"
but also by
"archaism and conservatism of our social structures
.
“This new society, for my part, I see it as a prosperous, young, generous and liberated society
,” the historic Gaullist aspired.
Bold, the speech irritated those around President Pompidou with its quasi-presidential intonations.
Accused of encroaching on the reserved domain of the Head of State, the taking of liberty of Jacques Chaban-Delmas will never be renewed by his successors at Matignon.
1988: Michel Rocard imitates Martin Luther King
On June 29, 1988, distant echoes of Martin Luther King's emblematic speech escaped from the perch of the National Assembly.
Twenty-five years after the resounding
“I have a dream”
by the African-American activist, Michel Rocard takes his turn dreaming, carried by a
“new hope”
.
By means of an anaphora, the head of government indulges in a lyrical flight tinged with optimism:
“I dream of a country where we talk to each other again.
I dream of cities where tensions are less.
I dream of a politics where we pay attention to what is said, rather than who says it.
I simply dream of an ambitious country where all the inhabitants rediscover the meaning of dialogue – why not celebration – and freedom.”
Called to Matignon to lead a policy of openness, the cantor of the second left is trying to expand the relative majority of the socialist party with
“those who know how to be open”
.
Worried, the Prime Minister will not submit to the vote of confidence of the National Assembly.
1991: Édith Cresson faced with misogyny in the Assembly
The first woman to occupy Matignon, Édith Cresson confronted the misogyny of the political class from her general policy declaration on May 22, 1991. The one who insisted on being called
"the prime minister"
during the entirety of her short mandate - she maintained his post for 10 months and 18 days -, had to painfully deliver his speech to the boos and laughter of the hemicycle.
From the outset, she announced the priority objective of her government:
“To make France succeed in the Europe of 1993 and in the world of the year 2000.”
An ambition which does not attract the attention of the deputies, who prefer to make fun of his voice considered too shrill and high-pitched.
Basically, the declaration of the mayor of Châtellerault and former minister is criticized for its lack of political audacity and its excessive technicality.
1992: Pierre Bérégovoy, apostle of the fight against corruption
On April 8, 1992, Pierre Bérégovoy declared an
“emergency”
in the fight against corruption.
He warns:
“The government will be ruthless”
.
Whistled, Edith Cresson's successor spontaneously brandished a sheet and threatened the opposition with publicly revealing a list of corrupt elected officials.
“As I am a new prime minister and a cautious politician, I have here a list of personalities that I could possibly talk to you about
,” he says from the perch.
But the attempt at intimidation immediately subsides:
“I will be careful not to!”
The scene caused a stir in the right-wing benches, which emptied in an uproar.
2002: the first
“raffarinade”
“Our road is straight, but the slope is steep”
.
Pictorial and nebulous, the formula has become a landmark.
Before inaugurating one of his first
“
raffarinades
”
in front of the Assembly on July 3, 2002, the Prime Minister of Jacques Chirac evokes
“the urgency of a response to the expectations of citizens and the requirement for the sharing of republican values .”
2007: François Fillon in the shadow of Nicolas Sarkozy
Overhung by the shadow of Nicolas Sarkozy, François Fillon's general policy declaration marks a turning point in the hyper-presidentialization of the Fifth Republic.
While he must present his project to the deputies on July 3, 2007, Nicolas Sarkozy anticipates him by unfolding his roadmap in front of the parliamentarians of his majority two weeks earlier.
Bypassing his prime minister, Nicolas Sarkozy ratifies the erasure of the head of government, relegated to a subordinate position.
A month later, the tenant of the Élysée will claim it with confidence:
“The Prime Minister is a collaborator, the boss is me.”
A vision that François Fillon also embraces in the conclusion of his inauguration speech:
“There is a breath of confidence in the country.
The President of the Republic is the initiator.
I am the depositary before you.”
2012: Jean-Marc Ayrault, “soporific”
If he did not beat the records of his predecessors Alain Juppé and Édouard Balladur with their speeches of 1 hour 45 minutes and 2 hours, Jean-Marc Ayrault certainly competed in length with his approximately 1 hour 40 minutes of intervention.
Establishing slowness as a virtue, François Hollande's prime minister even made it a guideline for his mandate:
“We don't fight inertia with agitation.
The temptation of all power is to move quickly (…), to achieve everything in a hundred days.
Well, the President of the Republic like myself wants to bring about long-term change
,” he said during his general policy declaration on July 3, 2012. A performance deemed
“soporific”
by the opposition of right who did not hesitate to disrupt the session with flinches and sneers.
The highlight of the show: a socialist deputy, Patrick Vignal, felt unwell and caused the session to be interrupted.
2017: Édouard Philippe overtaken by Emmanuel Macron
Ten years after François Fillon, Édouard Philippe in turn had the rug pulled from under him by the President of the Republic.
On the eve of his Prime Minister's general policy declaration on July 4, 2017, Emmanuel Macron spoke before the two Chambers of Parliament, meeting in Versailles.
Donning his Jupiterian costume, the Head of State presented the “major orientations” of his five-year term in a dense and sometimes ethereal speech lasting almost an hour and a half.
Responsible for the “
implementation
” of the presidential program, Édouard Philippe wanted to be more concrete, focusing on budgetary reforms, the modernization of the public service and even health.
By agreeing to demote the post of prime minister to the status of simple executive, the tandem has put a piece back into the machine of hypresidentialism of the Fifth Republic.
2022: Élisabeth Borne in search of a majority
The sentence falls on June 19, 2022. Despite the rallying of MoDem and Horizons, the presidential confederation Together!
has a relative majority in the National Assembly, with 245 seats.
Summoned to govern without a comfortable seat in the hemicycle, Élisabeth Borne largely addresses her general policy declaration to the oppositions.
On July 6, 2022, the former Minister of Labor, known for her sense of dialogue and negotiation, will utter the word
“together”
25 times , endorsing the Macronist concept of
“majorities of projects”
.
“The French elected an Assembly without an absolute majority.
They invite us to new practices, to sustained dialogue and to the active search for compromise.
The context obliges us
,” she declared at the National Assembly.
The second woman to settle in Matignon, Élisabeth Borne had decided not to submit to a vote of confidence.