“I believe in the virtue of mobile warfare. » In the hall of the Elysée, Thursday, September 15, in front of the head of government, Elisabeth Borne, twenty ministers seated in the first row and all the prefects gathered, the President of the Republic used this metaphor to express his will to see its promises materialized more quickly. He has illustrated it, in recent days, by going to the front to hasten his pension reform, orchestrating the gestation of the project, even if it means confusing and dividing within his own camp.
Emmanuel Macron does not rule out inserting an amendment in the Social Security financing bill (PLFSS), which must be presented to the Council of Ministers on September 26, to ensure implementation at the summer 2023. Neither the method of voting nor the content of the reform – postponement of the legal retirement age or extension of the contribution period – have been officially recorded.
For three days, political meetings have followed one another on both sides of the Seine. The President of the Republic broached the subject with Elisabeth Borne during a lunch at the Elysee Palace on Thursday, after having met for more than two hours with the deputies of the majority of the finance committee. Before them, Emmanuel Macron argued that there was no ideal time to legislate and that the political and social situation would not be less simple in a few months.
Meanwhile, at Matignon, Elisabeth Borne told her ministers that a pension reform would be necessary to finance the social model. As for the modalities, she maintained, in the words of a minister, a neutrality of « poker face ».
The majority at loggerheads
The day before, during a breakfast with the bosses of the three majority parties, the Prime Minister had listened to the reservations of Stanislas Guerini, general delegate of the presidential party, the restraint of Edouard Philippe, leader of the Horizons party, and the protests of François Bayrou, president of the Modem. The latter opposes what he considers an archaic method: “We must carry out the reform in 2023, convince and train the French, avoiding going through by force. ” ” What’s its use the NRC [Conseil national de la refondation] ? mopes the secretary general of this body inaugurated on September 8 by Emmanuel Macron. To find a way to think about the fundamental problems on the future of the country and to escape the systematic conflict. »
Within the presidential camp, the atmosphere is at loggerheads. As of Tuesday, the President (Renaissance) of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, and the leader of the Horizons deputies, Laurent Marcangeli, expressed their reluctance at a meeting of the leaders of the Macronist coalition. For some, the method of reform through the PLFSS is considered “of unspeakable brutality” ; for others, the timing is inopportune and may “well wait three months”.
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