The government suffered a first setback in the Assembly as soon as the second article of the pension reform bill was voted on. After days of debate marked by very lively incidents, the deputies rejected, on Tuesday February 14, the “senior index” in companies, a device promoted by the executive to encourage employers to use more older employees.
The ace. By 256 votes against 203, and 8 abstentions, the parliamentarians inflicted a serious slap on the majority. To the point of making it doubt the sincerity of the ballot. When the result was announced, the president of the Renaissance group, Aurore Bergé, unsuccessfully recounted the votes of her camp, convinced of an electronic failure in the votes.
The leading role of the right
“Tonight, the whole left and the FN are celebrating the removal from the pension reform project of the article which creates an index of employment for seniorsLamented in the process on Twitter the Minister of Labor, Oliver Dussopt. United to remove a new tool in favor of the employment of older people. »
Admittedly, the cumulative votes of deputies from the New People’s Ecological and Social Union (134) and the National Rally (77) account for more than 80% of the “against” to the “senior index”. But, contrary to what Olivier Dussopt denounces, the rejection of article 2 is not based on an alliance of circumstance between the left and the extreme right.
Rather, the government owes its failure, and its surprise, to right-wing opposition. Thirty-eight Republican (LR) deputies opposed the device, six abstained, none supported it. Even Horizons, yet a partner of Renaissance within the majority, did not unite behind the government: two of its members abstained, 24 voted for.
“We had decided in the group to vote against this article”, “a kind of thing that was going to weigh on the daily work of companies”, explained Wednesday on France 2 the president of the LR deputies, Eric Ciotti. The nocturnal episode does not confirm less the great complexity of the equation on the whole of the text of the government, which is betting on an agreement with the right to have the text adopted in Parliament despite the persistence of the social movement.
LR keeps up the pressure
Officially, the leadership of the Republicans maintains its support for the bill, and the passage from 62 to 64 years of the legal age of retirement. “My political family yesterday voted a motion almost unanimously saying that we wanted to vote for this reform because it is necessary”recalled, Wednesday Eric Ciotti.
The day before, Elisabeth Borne nevertheless deemed it necessary to let go of the long career component. The Prime Minister announced that people who started working before the age of 21 would not have to contribute more than 43 to retire, once they have reached the required early retirement age. Matignon then clarified that it would be possible to leave without a discount with these 43 years of contributions.
In the initial project, some long-career employees had to contribute for forty-four years. Tabled in the evening, the government’s amendment provides for a possible departure at age 63 for those who have worked 4 or 5 quarters before the age of 21, as well as future measures by decree, which has left LRs waiting.
The government knows that the subject constitutes a stumbling block for right-wing deputies still resistant to its reform, in the forefront of which the vice-president of the party, Aurélien Pradié. The elected representative of Lot reproached Mr. Dussopt on Tuesday evening for “provide no response to questions from parliamentarians” and warned him of a future “major democratic problem”.