Gabriel Attal's government is about to set an involuntary historical record: that of the longest caretaker government since the Second World War, if not longer.
On Saturday, August 24, it will have been 39 days since President Emmanuel Macron accepted the government's resignation and signed the decree terminating the duties of the prime minister and his team. For 39 days, without being replaced, the resigning government has remained in office to ensure the minimal functioning of the state.
This length of time is historically exceptional. Under the Fifth Republic, which began in 1958, periods of day-to-day management have generally been short. Most of the time, they have lasted one, two or three days, with a maximum of nine in 1962. According to political scientists Alejandro Ecker and Thomas Meyer, of Mannheim University and Vienna University respectively, France is usually one of the fastest countries in Europe in terms of government transition.
Under the Fourth Republic, transition times were longer. On average, they lasted two weeks, according to a study by government adviser Jean Massot published in the journal Pouvoirs in 1996. The record was set in the spring of 1953. After the fall of René Mayer's Radical government, it took 38 days to find a new president of the Council, as the prime minister was officially known. Seven candidates, including Pierre Mendès France, refused the position or were blocked by the Assemblée. Partly out of weariness, MPs finally gave their confidence to businessman Joseph Laniel, an independent MP and supporter of national unity.
This time, Attal's unique experience highlights the limits of caretaker governments. The concept of day-to-day management is designed for short periods. Inscribed in the Constitution of the Fourth Republic, it is not included in the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, but is still considered by jurisprudence as a "traditional principle of public law" that remains valid.
A Conseil of State ruling of October 1962 clearly established this: Until it is replaced, a resigning government cannot take new initiatives, but "retains the power (...) to handle day-to-day matters."
What exactly is meant by "day-to-day matters"? In practice, they can be divided into two categories, according to a memo from the General Secretariat of the Government (SGG) dated July 2: either ordinary business, "so automatically dictated by the normal running of the state that it requires no political judgment," or urgent business, the handling of which cannot be delayed. "In essence, these are decisions that any government should reasonably take because they are entirely dictated by necessity or obvious circumstances," explained the SGG.
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