They waited until the last minute to decide. Shortly before 3 p.m., after yet another meeting and much hesitation, the socialist deputies decided that they would not vote to censure the government this Thursday afternoon. Olivier Faure and his troops were not present in the hemicycle when Manuel Bompard (LFI) defended from the podium the motion of censure tabled by rebels, ecologists and communists to overthrow François Bayrou. But why did the elected representatives of the PS decide not to vote (immediately) for the fall of the government?
Weigh on the Bayrou budget
After days of negotiations, François Bayrou disappointed the socialists during his general policy speech on Tuesday at the National Assembly. In a letter addressed to the PS, the Prime Minister finally summarized at the beginning of the afternoon this Thursday the list of concessions granted to the left. In addition to the three-month “conclave” on pension reform, the head of government responded positively to some of their requests on the waiting period for civil servants or the maintenance of 4,000 teaching positions in National Education. He also confirmed the proposed tax on high incomes.
This letter signed by him, and sent while the PS was holding its meeting, visibly tipped the scales. “We are in the opposition and we will stay there,” Olivier Faure proclaimed shortly after from the podium, revealing the position of his group. “But we do not have shameful negotiations,” welcomed the first secretary of the PS, saying his “honor” at having “extracted concessions” from the government. Sidelined during budget discussions under Michel Barnier, the PS now wants to weigh in as the bills return to the National Assembly. “We have had some initial gestures, but we cannot refrain from censorship the next time,” however, warns a socialist elected official.
Break away from La France insoumise
By negotiating with François Bayrou, the Socialist Party is thus detaching itself from the strategy of La France insoumise, which wishes at all costs to bring down the government to push for the resignation of Emmanuel Macron. “Apart from the concessions extracted from Matignon, the other determinant of non-censorship is the demand for stability from part of our electorate,” confirms a PS deputy.
And this despite the injunctions of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who threatened to put rebels against elected officials who do not vote for censure in the next elections. “Colleagues were certainly afraid that by voting for censorship, we would give the impression of giving in to Mélenchon’s blackmail,” breathes this elected PS.
Preparing the Congress
This desire for independence is not insignificant while Olivier Faure was increasingly criticized internally for the merger with LFI undertaken since 2022. “It would be an error to believe that we are here in a purely budgetary choice, warns a former minister of Michel Barnier. It is also a political decision, I will not be made to believe that the PS Congress has nothing to do with it.”
Threatened by his right wing, Olivier Faure is in fact risking his position during an upcoming party conclave, which must be organized by the summer. It remains to be seen whether the New Popular Front, which entered a zone of turbulence this Thursday, will resist these strategic differences.