Manuel Valls Says He Was Forced to Use Article 49-3 That He Wants to Abolish

France’s former prime minister Manuel Valls who is a presidential candidate for the Socialist Party says his repeated use of Article 49-3 of the French Constitution was forced upon him.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Valls has proposed to abolish Article 49-3, except on budgetary texts, even though he himself used it six times to overrule parliament opinion – three times between February 2015 and July 2016, to allow the adoption of the Macron bill and three times for the El Khomri bill, or Labor law, between May and July 2016.

When asked about the issue on France 2 television on Thursday, Valls said that his repeated use of article 49-3 was forced upon him by the parliamentary majority deputies.

"The 49-3 was forced upon me," Valls stressed.

The French presidential elections will take place in April and May.

The ruling Socialist Party is preparing for two rounds of primaries in January. Valls is among the declared candidates for the Socialist Party's nomination and will take part in the primaries on January 22 and January 29.

 

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