Article 49 of The French Constitution - Vote of No Confidence (49.2)

Vote of No Confidence (49.2)

A vote of no confidence (censure) is a means for the National Assembly, on its own initiative, to force the government to resign. The vote's application and action by the parliament, in this regard, is an essential characteristic of any parliamentary system. De Gaulle, when inaugurated as prime minister under the Fourth Republic, promised he would include this procedure in the reform of the institutions. It was actually imposed by the Constitutional Law of June 3, 1958.

In the constitution, the government's responsibility is framed by devices that allow it to streamline the parliamentarian system to promote stability of government. However, it is difficult to ascribe actual stability of the governments with these technical measures. The strength is due to two other factors. First, if a vote of non-confidence is approved by the National Assembly, the government, instead of resigning, is likely to ask the president to dissolve the assembly to stop it from voting. On the other hand, the Fifth Republic has been characterized by the appearance of stable political parties and reliable electoral coalitions able to effectively support the government. All these elements have reduced no confidence votes by parliamentarians. To date, censure has passed only once.