Élisabeth Borne likes numbers. It will not have escaped this polytechnician that at only 34 years old, Gabriel Attal becomes this Tuesday, January 9, the youngest Prime Minister of the Fifth Republic. But by giving up her place at Matignon, Élisabeth Borne especially takes with her other important figures, those of her record at the head of government.
First a minister during Emmanuel Macron’s first five-year term, she became, in 2022, the second woman to join Matignon after Édith Cresson (1991-1992). When handing over to her successor on the steps of the Hôtel de Matignon, the thanked head of government reiterated her “pride” at having, in “unprecedented conditions in the Assembly”, had our budgets “adopted , pension reform, immigration law and more than fifty texts. But it is a safe bet that History will also remember other numbers…
The first of these is undoubtedly “23”, for the number of times the Prime Minister has used the famous article 49.3, which allows the government to adopt a text without the vote of Parliament. Struggling with a relative majority, Élisabeth Borne notably used this constitutional weapon to have pension reform adopted as well as a large number of budgetary texts.
Only Michel Rocard, prime minister from 1988 to 1991 and also faced with a relative majority, had used it more: 28 times. But in terms of time spent at Matignon, Élisabeth Borne surpasses her predecessor with an average of 49.3 every 26 days.
Never had prime minister faced so many during the Fifth Republic: Élisabeth Borne thus survived the filing of 31 motions of censure, including 28 filed in response to the use of 49.3. But the opposition failed to unite to overthrow the head of government.
When the Prime Minister pushed through the pension reform, it was only nine votes short. Note, however, that the National Assembly had adopted a motion to reject the text of the immigration law, forcing Matignon’s host to convene a joint joint committee, which resulted in the adoption of a text largely amended by the right. .
In any case, Élisabeth Borne smashes the record of 20 motions of censure, established by Raymond Barre when he was at Matignon between 1976 and 1981. Appointed after the resignation of Jacques Chirac, he had to contend with a recalcitrant Gaullist majority in the Assembly.
Another striking figure: “602”, for the number of days spent in “Matignon’s hell”, which ranks Élisabeth Borne fifth among the most fleeting prime ministers since 1958, the founding date of the Fifth Republic. The now ex-Prime Minister does better than Édith Cresson (323 days), the only woman to have held this position before her.
Dismissed after the socialist rout in the regional and cantonal elections of March 1992, Cresson sometimes faced macho taunts from the political world of the time. When handing over the baton to Gabriel Attal, Élisabeth Borne also spoke half-heartedly about the difficulties encountered as a woman at the head of government: “I was able to see that there is still a way to go for equality between women and men, she said. I say to all women: hold on, the future is yours.”
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His longevity will also have exceeded that of Bernard Cazeneuve, Maurice Couve de Murville and Pierre Bérégovoy. Bernard Cazeneuve held the position from December 2016 until the presidential election, replacing Manuel Valls, who left office to declare himself a candidate. Decades earlier, Couve de Murville had briefly taken the helm of the government until the failed referendum of 1969 which marked the departure of General De Gaulle.
But if there was a prime minister for whom the expression “Matignon’s hell” took on its full meaning, it was undoubtedly Pierre Bérégovoy. Appointed by Mitterrand in 1992 to succeed Edith Cresson, Bérégovoy had to deal with a succession of cases – Bernard Tapie, Henri Emmanuelli, contaminated blood in particular -, transforming his mission into a real ordeal. This long way of the cross ended with the heavy defeat of the left in the legislative elections of March 1993 and the personal indictment of Pierre Bérégovoy in a questionable loan affair. On May 1, 1993, three days after leaving office, the socialist shot himself in the head.
After the resignation of Élisabeth Borne, several members of the head of state’s inner circle, including François Bayrou, called on Monday for the composition of a tighter government. That of the Prime Minister had 17 ministers, for 39 members in total, including the delegated ministers and the secretaries of state. A figure rather in the continuity of governments since the presidency of Jacques Chirac, if we except the first government of Alain Juppé in 1995 (26 ministers) and the Fillon III government, between 2010 and 2012 (22 ministers). The most numerous governments of the Fifth Republic were composed under François Mitterrand, including the Mauroy I governments of 1981 (24 members) and II, from 1981 to 1983 (29 members).
