It is 2:48 p.m. Journalists gather in front of the press gallery on the first floor of the National Assembly. Upon entering, places are quickly taken. Some are standing, notebook and pen in hand. As the nearly 577 deputies took their places in the hemicycle, the atmosphere became increasingly heavy.
At 2:51 p.m., the phones beep. Elisabeth Borne has decided. The weapon to push through the pension reform will be 49.3; there will be no voting. Large white posters are affixed to the desks of the Nupes deputies. Tone up.
At 3 p.m., the President of the National Assembly Yaël Braun-Pivet enters the enclosure, climbs to the perch and settles down in front of the national representation. " Madame President ! announces the Assembly staff, referring to his arrival. The elected get up and the boos shake the hemicycle.
Overlooking the deputies, Yaël Braun-Pivet immediately speaks. "The session is suspended", she proclaims... For good reason, no member of the government is present. The boos resume. At 3:06 p.m., the head of government Élisabeth Borne entered, to the din of opposition deputies. The president of the lower house exclaims: "The floor is with the Prime Minister. »
At 3:09 p.m., Elisabeth Borne gets up from her seat and climbs the steps that separate her from the gallery. Eyes turn to the left of the hemicycle. The deputies of Nupes, standing, trigger La Marseillaise in chorus, fists raised and equipped with their poster "Democracy" and "64 years, it's no". Their voices echo throughout the enclosure.
The Prime Minister, alone in front of the microphones, waits patiently. In vain. The elected members of the National Rally, who had been silent until then, join their colleagues during the second song. From the top of the hemicycle, the scene is surreal. At 3:11 p.m., in an incessant hubbub, Yaël Braun-Pivet announces a new suspension of the session for two minutes.
At 3:13 p.m., the sitting resumed. The songs just as much, without the members of the RN, who accompany the opposite side of the hemicycle by tapping on their desks. "Because I am attached to a social model...", we hear in the background, from the press gallery, without knowing the ins and outs of the sentence.
Elisabeth Borne begins a speech that quickly becomes inaudible. No more than forty elected representatives of the majority continuously applaud the head of government. Support is weak, whether it comes from elected officials from MoDem, Horizons, or even Renaissance. The Republicans are not making more noise.
At 3:19 p.m., the deputies of Nupes get up and leave the hemicycle, shouting "Democracy! ". Less than a minute later, the stoic head of government finishes her speech, folds down her sheets and descends from her desk. Since the hemicycle, neither the press, nor the public, nor even the elected officials have distinguished more than two sentences from his speech. The mood drops. The deputies leave the enclosure in turn.
