The session was coming to an end. As the clock in the Hemicycle approached midnight on Friday October 14, the leader of the deputies “rebellious”, Mathilde Panot, suddenly speaks to demand the extension of the debates on the finance bill (PLF). The elected representative of Val-de-Marne accuses the Minister of Public Accounts, Gabriel Attal, and the presidential coalition of having dragged out the discussions to avoid studying this Friday evening the amendments to come from the New Popular Union, ecologist and social (Nupes) which aim to restore the wealth tax (ISF), abolished in 2017 by Emmanuel Macron.
“It is still bizarre that just before the ISF amendments, there are two suspensions of the meeting, endless speeches by the presidential minority and the ministers”, deplores the deputy, surrounded by elected officials from the very mobilized Nupes. Her request is all the more justified, in her view, as a “short sound of a 49.3” unsheathed ” starting Monday ” by the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, putting an end to the discussions on the budget. Mathilde Panot was then supported in her approach by her socialist counterpart from the Landes, Boris Vallaud, who deplored “the delaying maneuvers of the executive and the majority”.
But this request was immediately refused by the President (Renaissance) of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, who interrupted the session in confusion a few minutes before the scheduled time.
In the process, the elected officials of Nupes are indignant on their Twitter accounts and call for mobilization for their “march against high cost of living and climate inaction” organized on Sunday, October 16. “Another small penknife in the democratic functioning of our institutions. Pathetic prelude to 49.3? », questions the deputy (La France insoumise, LFI) of Seine-Saint-Denis Raquel Garrido.
Slowness of the debates
This chaotic end of the evening is the epilogue of a week where the debates on the budget have bogged down day by day. While there are still more than 2,100 amendments to be examined – out of 3,300 tabled – fatigue and weariness have begun to appear among parliamentarians after five days and evenings of discussions. “We’ve been here since Monday night. We cannot say that we are progressing well”, breathes thus by going to the session the deputy (Les Républicains, LR) of the Jura Marie-Christine Dalloz.
If all recognize debates “interesting in substance”the elected representatives of the opposition now fear that the pace of the discussions will prevent them from being able to debate the most divisive subjects of this budget. “We hope it will go as far as the amendments on “superprofits”; we have a lot to say”, advances the deputy (LFI) of Seine-Maritime Alma Dufour. But for some elected officials, this slow progress in the debates – they will resume on Monday afternoon – could allow Elisabeth Borne to justify the use of 49.3 at the beginning of next week. So if the outcome seems inevitable, each side tries to pass the responsibility.
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