Article 49 of The French Constitution - Motion of Confidence (49.1)

Motion of Confidence (49.1)

The first paragraph allows the prime minister to commit the responsibility of his government before the National Assembly by putting forward a motion of confidence. As stated in article 50, a negative vote (with a simple majority, in contrast to the two following paragraphs, which protect the executive to a greater extent) leads to a resignation of the government. Its meaning is sometimes imprecise, and therefore its interpretation is disputed, particularly concerning the obligatory or optional character of this commitment. In practice it is viewed as optional, and the presidential post retains a clear supremacy. Thus, the motion of confidence is an arm at the disposition of the government alone. The political benefit which it can obtain remains limited: even if the motion of confidence is still an important parliamentary tradition that can sometimes bring it advantages in its relation with the parliament as well as with the public opinion, a government not supported by a majority can abandon it without great inconvenience.