Barely two articles examined and thousands of amendments pending: a small part of the pension reform was examined by the deputies at the end of its passage in committee on Wednesday, a prelude to its arrival on Monday in the hemicycle. Between tension, weariness and hubbub, the members of the Social Affairs Committee, meeting since Monday morning, completed their work with 4,997 remaining amendments, far from Article 7 which provides for the decline of the legal age to 64 years.
From "7:19 p.m.", ahead of the initially scheduled time (8:00 p.m.), the president of the commission, Fadila Khattabi (Renaissance), noted, "with real regret", that the entire text would not be examined, despite "28 hours of debate".
"28 hours of blocking", launched Sylvain Maillard (Renaissance) on the left, the RN deputies also denouncing the thousands of amendments tabled by the left. The latter returned the ball to the presidential camp. "I don't think we can be happy with three days of debates in committee for two years firm", denounced François Ruffin (LFI group). "They make me think of Juppé in 95: straight in their boots", lamented Jérôme Guedj (PS) in front of journalists.
The debates skated on the senior index and the pension financing system, targeted by numerous amendments from the Nupes. Environmentalist Sandra Regol dismissed accusations of "inflation" of amendments: "where there is real inflation, it's in the streets". "There is nothing to keep in this text", abounded Sébastien Jumel (PCF), "these three days we will have served to demonstrate it (...) and to feed the social movement".
Their proposals for new resources, via a restoration of the ISF or capital tax increases, were rejected. One of the only victories for the left was the adoption of a communist amendment to remove a CSG hike on all pensions. A "gift for the wealthy," the majority criticized.
But the government having chosen a budget text as a vehicle, the text examined on Monday will be the initial version of its project, without the amendments adopted in committee. Among the measures discussed, MEPs approved the creation of the senior index in large companies to improve "the place of employees at the end of their career". "An empty shell", for the opposition. They also validated Article 1 providing for the disappearance of most special regimes, including those of the RATP, the electricity and gas industries and the Banque de France.
Monday, the debates must begin with a motion of preliminary rejection of the Nupes and a referendum motion which must be defended by the RN, which the left disputes. The Liot deputies (Freedoms, Independents, Overseas and Territories) are also studying the possibility of filing one, according to a source within the group.
