VFrench Finance and Economics Minister Bruno Le Maire spoke on Wednesday of a “real victory for the government majority”. At four o’clock in the morning, after a heated night session, the MPs approved the supplementary budget to finance the Purchasing Power Act. The text of the law was adopted by a majority of 293 votes to 146, with 17 abstentions. The members of the Rassemblement National (RN) led by Marine Le Pen boycotted the vote. They left Parliament at three in the morning with expressions of displeasure. Their protest was directed against the Minister of Finance, who with an amendment averted an additional pension increase in the public sector in the amount of 500 million euros.
“The text was adopted with a very large majority of 293 votes,” Le Maire said on radio station France Inter. “We were able to expand the government majority by 54 MPs from Les Républicains.” Le Maire belonged to the right-wing party Les Républicains (LR) until 2017 and, under the impression of corruption allegations against the then LR presidential candidate François Fillon, joined Macron in the presidential election campaign. He now welcomed the support of his former party friends. “We have come together around basic principles: that curb public spending, value work and protect our compatriots who work and suffer from high fuel prices,” Le Maire said.
The often tumultuous debate
The closing of ranks was preceded by tensions in the government camp. The group of the Horizons party of former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe emancipated itself from the guidelines of the ruling party. The Horizons MPs voted for an amendment that provides for compensation payments of 120 million euros for the departments so that they can finance the decided four percent increase in the social benefit RSA. Horizons is thus positioning itself as an advocate for local authorities, which are often overlooked in centralized France. Finance Minister Le Maire said bitterly that he wished the enthusiasm for sound public finances was as great as for overspending. The government faction was also unable to assert itself with the aid for heating oil. Les Républicains pushed through an amendment. In this way, three million households that heat with heating oil benefit from compensation payments to cover the price increase. The measure, which was decided with the votes of the RN and the Left Party LFI, cost 230 million euros.
When it came to fuel prices, the government camp accommodated the civil rights. The LR parliamentary group leader Olivier Marleix had demanded the introduction of an upper limit for the fuel price of EUR 1.50 per liter. The government faction has now agreed not to let the general tank discount of currently 18 cents expire and even gradually to raise it to 30 cents per liter. Targeted measures for frequent professional drivers, as originally planned, are no longer planned. The supplementary budget now goes to the Senate.
The many night sittings and the often tumultuous debates have contributed to the fact that the ruling faction decided for longer parliamentary holidays for the first time in 20 years. The National Assembly meets until August 6th and then takes a break until the beginning of October. Government spokesman Olivier Véran said they wanted peace of mind to return. Most recently, the Left Party’s female MPs wore ties to the National Assembly. They were responding to criticisms by LR MP Éric Ciotti, who had complained about the unkempt style of clothing in the upper house and called for a tie to be compulsory.