LIVE - "We will not vote confidence" in François Bayrou, insists Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure

At first glance, one might think there's a certain panache in this initiative, which he sees as his Mendès-France moment, especially coming from someone who was described as obsessed with the idea of ​​staying in Matignon. But, in truth, faced with an impossible parliamentary equation, François Bayrou, firm in his boots and unwilling to negotiate, is first playing a personal card that, in his mind, is supposed to give him the status of a man who takes responsibility for telling the truth. Read below:

The head of the Socialist Party, Olivier Faure, considers it "unimaginable that the socialists would vote for confidence in François Bayrou" , who "made the choice to leave" , he considers in an interview with Le Monde published this Monday evening. The first secretary of the Socialist Party believes that François Bayrou's decision to ask for confidence in the National Assembly on September 8 "is a self-dissolution. He thinks he is doing it with the panache of someone who is considering another stage in his political life." On the microphone of the 8 p.m. news on TF1 a few minutes later, Olivier Faure hammered the point home: "Without any suspense, we will not vote confidence in the Prime Minister."

Following François Bayrou's announcement that he is seeking a vote of confidence, the morning shows will be packed this Tuesday. Some will be there to defend him: Macronist President of the National Assembly Yaël Braun-Pivet will be on TF1 at 7:35 a.m., almost in stereo with Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on RTL at 7:40 a.m., then Economy Minister Eric Lombard on France Inter at 7:50 a.m., before Minister for Relations with Parliament Patrick Mignola on France Info at 8:30 a.m. Others will be less tender: RN Vice-President Sébastien Chenu will be on CNews/Europe 1 at 8:10 a.m. and LFI boss Jean-Luc Mélenchon will be on France Inter at 8:20 a.m.

Sacha Houlié , former Macronist vice-president of the National Assembly and now a Place publique MP, regretted an "incomprehensible and irresponsible gamble by the Prime Minister." "What's the point of making big speeches about debt if, through risky and brutal political decisions, it's only to aggravate political and budgetary instability through an inevitable departure?" added the elected official, on X.

On LCI, Arthur Delaporte asserts that "François Bayrou has done nothing to save his skin." "He walled himself up this summer, building houses of cards with his cheap budget," denounces the Socialist MP from Calvados, who castigates the "pathetic bravado" of the day from a Prime Minister "without an absolute majority." "As I speak to you, I find it difficult to see how we can vote confidence in this government that only wants to leave. I saw François Bayrou preparing for his departure," assures the MP from Calvados. "I didn't see him trying to reach out. He never called us and never tried to build consensus."

The Socialist Party MP for Eure assured RTL that he would vote "personally" against the vote of confidence in François Bayrou's government. Philippe Lebrun also emphasized that the Socialist MPs plan to meet before September 8 to agree on a joint decision.

If François Bayrou doesn't revise his copy, the Socialist Party will not give him its confidence, according to Calvados MP Arthur Delaporte. "I don't see how we could vote for confidence" if the Pau resident's budget proposal remained the same by September 8th, the Socialist MP told reporters. "This Prime Minister has 15 days left to change his mind, his position, but I don't think so. I think he's preparing his exit, saying he'd rather be a martyr to a supposed cause that he's only doing a disservice to," said Arthur Delaporte after the head of government's press conference on Monday.

"Yes, France must reduce its deficit," argues François Ruffin, a Debout MP from the Somme, in a message posted on X. Except that, according to him, the method advocated by François Bayrou to reduce the country's deficit is not the right one. "The end of tax breaks for the richest and large firms, which Macron has increased like never before," is rather the path to follow for François Ruffin. He adds: "It's up to them to pay first. Not to employees, not to retirees." Unsurprisingly, he announces that he will "obviously refuse confidence" in François Bayrou.

The leader of the Greens party had little appreciation for the Prime Minister's speech. In a message posted on X, Marine Tondelier unsurprisingly announced that her group would vote against the confidence vote on September 8. "This vote of confidence (which he did not make upon arrival) is in fact a resignation," asserted Marine Tondelier. "The Greens 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 president of the RN group in the National Assembly assures that her party will indeed vote "against confidence" on September 8. "We will obviously vote against confidence in François Bayrou's government. Only dissolution will now allow the French to choose their destiny, that of recovery with the National Rally," writes Marine Le Pen in a message posted on X. In passing, she castigates the speech of the head of government and the French people in the face of the economic and financial crisis. "It is precisely because they have understood the gravity of the situation that our compatriots reject the measures of the Prime Minister, as unfair as they are ineffective ," denounces the deputy of Pas-de-Calais who calls for a dissolution of the government.

The Paris Stock Exchange fell sharply late Monday afternoon, losing nearly 1.50%, following François Bayrou's press address on the budget, during which he announced his intention to seek a vote of confidence before the National Assembly on September 8. Around 5:20 p.m., the CAC 40 was down 1.49% to 7,850.68 points, a decline of 119.01 points compared to the previous day. Before the Prime Minister's address, it had been trading slightly lower. The ten-year interest rate on French debt was up, at 3.49%, compared to 3.42% the previous day.

Like his ally Jordan Bardella, Eric Ciotti announced that the deputies of his party, the UDR, will not give their confidence to the government of François Bayrou. "It is naturally unthinkable to give confidence to a government and a Macronist majority that have led France down the path to bankruptcy for so many years," wrote the former president of the Republicans and deputy for the Alpes-Maritimes on X , after the Prime Minister's press conference.

What would happen if the deputies did not vote for confidence on September 8? François Bayrou estimated that this would not lead to a new dissolution of the National Assembly by Emmanuel Macron . "I thought I heard, through rumors that seem well-founded to me, that the President of the Republic had already tried dissolution and that he concluded that it did not clarify things," the Prime Minister quipped.

Analysis

"François Bayrou has just announced the end of his government, undermined by its complacent inaction," stressed Jordan Bardella, the president of the RN. "The RN will never vote confidence in a government whose choices make the French people suffer," he added, on X.

Will the Prime Minister commit to not forcing through the budget? The question remains unanswered. "I don't think it's an absurd idea. It's entirely possible that it's an idea that's not sustainable in the public debate, but deep down, I have the idea that the litmus test of the debate could be developed without Article 49.3. It's not an unfamiliar idea," the Prime Minister's office holder evasively replied to the press.

"How can we trust a majority that has such a record, that has done so much harm since 2017?" reacted the leader of the PCF, Fabien Roussel, to the Prime Minister's announcement that he would take responsibility on September 8. "We want another government," he stressed on X.

Asked about his strategy To convince the RN and the PS not to bring him down, the Prime Minister assures that he will not make any particular concessions to these parties. "Our survival depends on each of the parliamentarians. Our survival does not depend on labels but on the vote of each one. I have always refused, I have been criticized for it, to make differences between parliamentarians. I think that they are of equal dignity," affirms François Bayrou. And the leader of the MoDem assures: "I am convinced that everyone will think, in any case that is what it is made for. If we have to receive all the parliamentary groups I am obviously ready to receive them, but I am not ready to abandon logic, coherence. It is a question of the survival of our State."

The national coordinator of France Insoumise, Manuel Bompard, unsurprisingly announced that his troops would not vote for confidence in the Prime Minister on September 8. "From now on, everyone has their backs to the wall and must take a clear position. The rebellious parliamentarians will vote on September 8 to bring down the government," he wrote on X.