Article 49 of the French Constitution

Article 49 of the Constitution of France is part of Title V: "On the relations between the parliament and the government" (articles 34 to 51). It sets out the political responsibility of the French government (in the French sense, meaning the prime minister and the cabinet) to the parliament. In this, it gives the French constitution whose character is still being debated, one of the principal traits of a parliamentary system. This parliamentarianism, however, is strongly rationalized, in that it is designed to ensure the stability of the government. The article reuses and reinforces some elements already present in the Fourth Republic. Paragraph 3, however, introduces an arrangement without equivalent in previous constitutions, or elsewhere in the world, which gives a powerful arm to the government. This arrangement was designed to promote greater stability by protecting the government from "ad hoc majorities" in parliament, which under previous constitutions frequently dissolved the government but were unable to offer alternative arrangements.

The article, which comprises four paragraphs, is designed to prevent ministerial crises like those that occurred in France under the Fourth Republic. It establishes:

Article 49.2, called "spontaneous censure" (in contrast to the next paragraph, where the censure is after a fashion "provoked" by the government), by imposing the adoption of a motion by the absolute majority of the members, changes the burden of proof, forces the assembly to demonstrate that there is a real rejection of the government. The government cannot be overturned with the help of undecided who may abstain. Article 49.2 has been called into use only once, in October 1962 against Georges Pompidou who was forced to resign immediately before being reinstated and supported by a new majority after the elections.

Article 49.3, called "commitment of responsibility", allows the government to put through a bill without a vote under the cover of a rejection of the vote of no confidence which the opposition must put forward for form, with little hope of success.

Articles 50 and 51 are directly connected to article 49, providing in article 50 an essential complement to paragraph 2 and in 51 a technical precision for paragraph 3.

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