While he has so far rather left the hand to his government, Emmanuel Macron on Monday took a small step into the arena of debates on the pension file. More than ever dependent on the voices of the right, he called for the “responsibility” of the oppositions three days before a suspense ballot in the National Assembly on his reform, which will largely determine the rest of his five-year term.
To get his message across, the Head of State invited himself, an extremely rare occurrence, to the start of the weekly coordination meeting of executives from the presidential camp. “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 speech and appeal to the responsibility of the oppositions which could vote for the reform”.
A decisive week
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 the passage by force, without a vote of the Assembly, because it is often seen as “brutal” or “undemocratic”. To be obliged to have recourse to this article would above all 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.
Uncertainty over the choice of several LR deputies
In this inflammable context, the hunt for votes therefore remains crucial for the executive. In the presidential camp, “if we lacked it, it would be truly anecdotal,” assured Olivier Véran. But uncertainty still reigns over the choice of several LR deputies, the right-wing party counting on around fifteen votes against.
On the social front, an eighth day of demonstrations is scheduled for Wednesday across France, while the last Saturday attracted fewer people. If the mobilization seems to be running out of steam, especially in transport, it nevertheless now has particularly unpleasant consequences in several cities: heaps of garbage litter the streets, with 5,600 tonnes of waste not collected in Paris alone.