If you're reading French media you're likely to see a lot of headlines about Article 49.3 - or hear discussion of quarante-neuf trois - and if you're not French you're likely wondering what it is and why everyone is so excited about something that sounds very dull and technical.
'Legislative nuclear weapon'
As the name suggests, this is an Article of the French constitution, written into the 1958 version of the constitution.
It's an option for the French government in case of a legislative quagmire, and allows them to pass a bill without parliamentary support, it's sometimes referred to as a “nuclear legislative weapon”.
Its critics say that it represents a denial of democracy in allowing a leader to bypass the democratically elected parliament, while its defenders say that it is sometimes necessary to end a political deadlock.
What is the 49.3?
Article 49.3 can be found in the chapter of the French constitution that regulates the relationship between Parliament and the government.
It states that “the French Prime Minister can, upon discussing with the conseil des ministres (the cabinet) unilaterally pass any bill relating to financial or social security issues without consulting parliament".
The article further states that only a motion de censure (motion of no confidence) signed by at least 10 percent of members (58 MPs) filed within 24 hours can prevent the bill then being adopted.
Why are we talking about this?
Because prime minister Sébastien Lecornu is going to resort to using it to get the 2026 Budget passed.
How unusual is this?
Despite the outrage that usually greets the use - or even threat - of Article 49.3 in reality, French governments have not been that reluctant to dust off the old constitutional sword to fight through their own political projects.
Emmanuel Macron's government used it back in 2019 to push through the first part of the pension reform - back then, his government had a parliamentary majority, but the project proved so controversial that it required the use of Article 49.3 to get it through parliament.
Since his party lost its parliamentary majority, the use of 49.3 has become more frequent, but he is far from the only French leader to resort to this.
François Hollande in 2009 called the article 49.3 “a brutality” and a “denial of democracy,” but as President he let his own Socialist Party PM Manuel Valls use the article no less than six times between 2015 and 2016.
Before Valls, Alain Juppé used it twice between 1995 and 1996. Jacques Chirac shares the record with Raymond Barre of having turned to article 49.3 all of eight times during his time as Prime Minister in the late 1980s, beating Georges Pompidou’s six times in the 1960s. This list is not exhaustive.
The 49.3 article has been used over a hundred times under France's 5th republic. And it has been used nearly 30 times since Emmanuel Macron’s re-election in 2022.
READ ALSO: Explained: What is the French Fifth Republic?
Only once has the use of Article 49.3 led to the fall of a government: that of former French Prime Minister Michel Barnier's in December 2024 when he tried to have the Social Security budget approved.
Nonetheless, the use of the article remains controversial with opponents referring to it as a "denial of democracy". Its use has often been followed by attempts to bring down the government, strikes, protests or all three.