Two days before the end of the debates on the pension reform in the Assembly and on the eve of a new day of mobilization, Emmanuel Macron vigorously attacked the opposition on Wednesday while nearly 11,000 amendments remained to be examined.
"The oppositions no longer have a compass and are totally lost", affirmed in the Council of Ministers the Head of State, very discreet in public on the flagship project of his second five-year term, according to two participants who confirmed to the AFP comments reported by Le Figaro.
The National Assembly on Tuesday rejected the establishment of a senior index in companies.
And the uncertainty grows on the chances of examination of article 7 on the decline to 64 years of the age of departure, the flagship measure of the text.
On Wednesday evening, La France insoumise withdrew "more than a thousand amendments" and the Socialists "90% of theirs", according to a parliamentary source.
But there are still nearly 11,000 to be examined on the whole project while the first reading examination must end on Friday at midnight before the text goes to the Senate.
"The objective is to vote, we hope as soon as possible, on this famous article 7", explained PS deputy Philippe Brun, judging that there was "a possible majority in the hemicycle for vote against".
On the Communist side, deputy André Chassaigne deplored "a de facto alliance on Article 7: the Republicans do not want a vote, nor do the oppositions and not even the government, which is gaining time as soon as it can ".
In the meantime, Marine Le Pen has filed a motion of censure with the National Rally group "so that the deputies opposed" to the reform "can express their rejection of this text".
The motion will have to be debated and voted on within 48 hours of its tabling - i.e. late Friday afternoon - and three sitting days - i.e. Wednesday, March 1, since the Assembly suspends its work the next week.
The other groups immediately ruled out voting for it. "We do not collaborate, in any way, with a far-right party," said Sandrine Rousseau (EELV) on LCP. It is "out of the question for us to be assimilated to a coagulated force on the far right", affirmed on RTL Clémentine Autain (LFI).
The boss of the LR deputies Olivier Marleix denounced a "theater" to "hide the vacuity" of the RN's proposals, and the Renaissance deputy Benjamin Haddad "a really acrobatic diversion" from the party which "did not know how to propose the slightest idea, any constructive contribution" to the debate.
The debates concerned a series of amendments on the restoration of the ISF (wealth tax) or the taxation of superprofits.
Tensions have arisen on the left over La France insoumise's strategy of slowing down the debates with its thousands of amendments.
The secretary general of the CFDT Laurent Berger and his counterpart of the CGT Philippe Martinez wished that the discussions and the vote could take place on the postponement of the age.
To iron out these differences, the leaders of Nupes and several unions were to meet in Paris, a meeting finally postponed indefinitely after leaks in the press.
Regarding the senior index, "the government wishes that this article can be restored during the examination of the text in the Senate", assured the spokesman of the government Olivier Véran.
He believes "logically" that the recent announcements made by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne on long careers "should bring together a large majority of parliamentarians".
But LR boss Eric Ciotti blew hot and cold. He recalled his party's support for this "necessary" reform while justifying the rejection the day before of the "alibi" article on the senior index.
The inter-union plans a new day of mobilization on Thursday and threatens to put the country "on hold" on March 7 if the government does not give up its project.
Launched in January, a petition by the eight unions united against the reform reached the symbolic milestone of one million signatures on Wednesday, according to the change.org platform.
Thursday, the numbers one of the inter-union parade in Albi, symbol of this France of small towns very mobilized against the text. In Paris, a demonstration will leave from Bastille towards the place of Italy.
After 963,000 demonstrators on Saturday according to the authorities (more than 2.5 million according to the unions), the crowd should be lower on Thursday. A police source expected 450 to 650,000 people, including 40 to 70,000 in Paris.
The disruptions are expected to be limited in transport, with 4 out of 5 TGVs and normal traffic in the Paris metro. Only 1 out of 2 TERs will operate and 30% of flights at Orly will be cancelled.
02/16/2023 01:05:29 - Paris (AFP) - © 2023 AFP
