Article 49.3 of the French Constitution enables the government to pass bills without the consent of the National Assembly, something regularly commented upon. Traditionally
of rare occurrence, the number of its uses has skyrocketed in the past year. This issue of the Blickpunkt takes a deeper look into what this procedure actually is, where it comes from, how it was used historically, and explains the reasons of its newfound relevance in nowadays French political configuration, as well as its risks for parliamentary democracy.
