He didn’t mince his words. Guest of the “Grand Rendez-vous” Europe 1 / Les Échos / CNews, the government spokesperson, Olivier Véran, has stepped up to defend the pension reform, which will be examined from this Monday in the National Assembly .
For him, Elisabeth Borne’s announcement on long careers – those who started working between the ages of 20 and 21 will leave at 63, she told the JDD – is a sign of “the spirit of opening” of the government, since a measure in this direction was demanded by the LR. “We do not give in, (…) when we enrich, we always win”, he commented, adding that this change did not “call into question the balance at 2030” promised by the government.
Olivier Véran also congratulated the right for its “coherence”, its “openness” and its “ability to work together”. Conversely, he was much more critical of the left, explaining that he feared a “stupid and nasty obstruction from the Nupes”.
“Our reform is not popular, to say the least”
For him, the 18,000 amendments tabled by the left are “useless”, it’s like “throwing tomato soup on a board”, he compared, referring to the actions carried out in different museums of the world by environmental activists.
“It would take months and months of reading, to read and understand” the thousands of amendments, said the spokesperson. “It’s not up to a mandate, I would never do such a thing,” he criticized. Before hammering, repeatedly, that the parliamentary debate was “necessary”.
“Our reform is not popular, to say the least,” admitted Véran, explaining that there was “never a good political moment” for such a proposal. The former Minister of Health, however, assured that the presidential majority would accept “amendments” which will come from its own ranks but also “from the opposition”. “Some individuals” among the Renaissance deputies “wanted improvements” to the text, acknowledged Olivier Véran, but he swept away the slightest “organized sling” in the ranks of the macronie.
Asked about the legitimacy of the Minister of Labour, Olivier Dussopt, targeted by an investigation by the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office for suspicion of favouritism, the government spokesperson deemed him “focused and perfectly at work” and specified that he would not be not the only one to defend the reform of drafts in the Hemicycle from this Monday.