A gift that made the ministers and the head of government laugh, but perhaps not the French. On Tuesday December 22, 2022, in Matignon, Elisabeth Borne as well as the members of the government and their spouses met for a convivial dinner as part of the traditional end-of-year meal. However, some prominent government figures were missing from the call, such as Sebastien Lecornu, Olivier Dussopt, Gabriel Attal, Christophe Béchu and Gérald Darmanin.

During this dinner, the Prime Minister thanked the ministers present and called on them to stick together for the coming year. Indeed, the next few months reserve some difficult tests for the government, such as the pension reform.

As Le Point reports, Elisabeth Borne received a strange gift during this meal. While the France team lost the World Cup in the final against Argentina on December 18, it was a Blues jersey that members of the government offered him. However, this one has a peculiarity.

It was indeed flocked with the numbers “49” on the front and “3” on the back. This obviously refers to the famous article 49.3 of the Constitution that the head of government has used no less than 10 times since the beginning of her mandate.

This article being very little appreciated by the French, the joke should not make many laugh. However, this was not the case for the Prime Minister, who put it on without waiting, strutting from one room to another at the Hôtel Matignon. “It’s a joke in bad taste, she put on the jersey to please, but it’s a subject she doesn’t take lightly. It’s not fun having to chain 49.3s and motions of censorship,” said one of the dinner attendees.

A large part of the guests hastened to grab their phones to immortalize the moment. But Elisabeth Borne’s communicator put an end to the commotion, asking everyone to stop taking photos.