The Republicans, shaken by an internal revolt on the pension reform project, displayed a fragile unity on Tuesday at the end of a political office which reaffirmed their demands on long careers in order to be able, "in coherence", to vote for the text. The political office, the first of Éric Ciotti as new president of the party, gave birth to a text approved "unanimously of the 70 present, minus 8 abstentions".
"The Republicans have a widely shared position", assured the head of the LR deputies, Olivier Marleix, at the end of the meeting, repeating that "our country needs a pension reform if we want to safeguard our pay-as-you-go system" . But the approval of the reform, which includes many markers from the right, has been challenged by several deputies labeled "popular right" who threaten not to vote on the text without progress on long careers.
The motion adopted Tuesday, weighed with a trebuchet, recalls the "coherence" of LR as a "party of responsible government", but underlines that "we are in opposition to President Emmanuel Macron". LR therefore relies on conditions on long careers to bring "the legal age of departure to 64 years and the number of annuities required to 43 years".
"An important step forward", estimated number 2 of the party Aurélien Pradié, who has camped from the start on an intransigent line, and did not take part in the vote. Among the abstainers, we find Xavier Bertrand and several deputies: Raphaël Schellenberger, Isabelle Perigault, Ian Boucard, Maxime Minot, Fabien di Filippo... "If in a few days the government moves forward on the subject, me and some of my friends will pass from the status of troublemakers to those who have advanced the cause for the French", added Aurélien Pradié who, in this negotiation, "assumes to engage in a standoff with the government".
"There was no blood on the walls, everything is fine", added the deputy, seated for this meeting next to Bruno Retailleau, very partisan of the reform. The boss of the LR senators had estimated in the JDD that if Aurélien Pradié did not vote for the reform, he could not remain number 2 of the party. Anxious to ease the pressure, Marleix also assured that Tuesday's meeting had been a "beautiful moment of unanimity".
