More than ever at the mercy of the voices of the right, Emmanuel Macron invited himself, extremely rare Monday afternoon to the weekly meeting of the executives of his party, and spoke about the pension reform. Social mobilization in the face of the project seems to be running out of steam, especially in transport, but it is now having particularly unpleasant consequences in several cities: heaps of garbage litter the streets, 5,600 tonnes of waste not collected in Paris alone.
"This reform is an absolute necessity for the financing of our pensions and the solidity of the country", he hammered, according to several participants. "We must carry this discourse and appeal to the responsibility of the oppositions which could vote for the reform", he added.
After the adoption of the text in the Senate on Saturday evening, the final parliamentary sequence will open on Wednesday with the convening of a joint joint committee (CMP), bringing together elected officials from both chambers. If there is agreement on a compromise text on the reform, it will be submitted Thursday to the Senate and then to the National Assembly, where the government is far from sure of having a majority.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne dismisses at this stage the use of Article 49.3 of the Constitution which allows for a forced passage, without a vote of the Assembly, because it is often seen as "brutal" or "undemocratic". "Today, we do not see why it should be used", commented Gabriel Attal, Minister Delegate for Public Accounts. "If everyone is consistent with the commitments, the statements he made before the French (...) there is a majority to vote for the text. »
To be forced to use this article would be perceived as a devastating political sign, likely to stir up social tensions. Especially since, on this very controversial reform which lowers the retirement age from 62 to 64, the government has already chosen to limit the debate in Parliament to 50 days and to draw from the Senate a tool allowing it to single vote on the entire text.
In this flammable context, the hunt for votes remains crucial for the executive. In the presidential camp, "if we lacked it, it would be truly anecdotal", assured Olivier Véran. But uncertainty still reigned over the choice of several Les Républicains deputies, the right-wing party counting on around fifteen votes against. “At LR, there is a desire to go to 49.3. Like that, they would tap again on the fragility of the government, would show that they are pivots more than ever ”, notes a deputy of the majority.
Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire put pressure on his former party. "It would be crazy to have a party that votes for a text in the Senate and does not vote for it in the National Assembly," he said on franceinfo. In the end, for Renaissance MP Eric Woerth, 49.3 would be "not an admission of weakness" but "an admission of realism and pragmatism".
It would be a "terrible admission of failure of this government", on the contrary warned the president of the environmental group in the Senate, Guillaume Gontard, the boss of the CFDT Laurent Berger, denouncing him "a form of democratic vice". "To me, that would seem crazy to me," said Marine Le Pen, leader of the deputies of the National Rally. She added that her group would file a no-confidence motion if 49.3 is appealed and vote "all" of the other no-confidence motions.
Massively hostile to the reform, the French are convinced that it will be voted on and applied, according to the latest polls. On the social front, an eighth day of mobilization is scheduled for Wednesday throughout France, while the last Saturday attracted fewer people. Train traffic is "significantly improving", but remains disrupted on most lines, SNCF management said. It will be again on Tuesday.
The strike continues in several refineries, in particular that of Esso-ExxonMobil in Fos-sur-Mer and PétroIneos in Lavera (Bouches-du-Rhône), as well as on the facilities of the TotalEnergies group.
