Will the government find a majority to pass the pension reform in the National Assembly? A few days before a decisive vote, the executive plays optimism. “We have the conditions so that we do not lack votes”, assured Olivier Véran on Monday. Asked about LCI, the government spokesperson repeated the “necessary” nature of the reform, and recalled that the Senate adopted the text on Saturday evening in a very amended version by the right. “A text widely voted on in the Senate is intended to be adopted by both chambers,” he defended, while acknowledging that a few voices from the Renaissance group were missing.
“There are deputies who are uncertain about this project until late. We must therefore continue to discuss with them, ”he said. “We will not give up on our pension reform,” he continued, believing that the lack of votes would be “anecdotal for the time being. But if not, will the executive take the risk of triggering Article 49.3 of the Constitution on such a burning text? “It is not a taboo but it is not a tool that we are ready to draw,” maintained the government spokesperson.
“We don’t see why we should use 49.3”
Same story for Gabriel Attal who judges that the executive will not need such a tool. “We do not want to use 49.3 and we do not see why it should be used: the Republicans in the Senate voted for the text. The LRs of the Assembly are part of the same political family ”, assured a few minutes earlier the Minister Delegate for Public Accounts on France Inter. And to add: “If everyone is consistent with their commitments, we will have a majority. »
Convincing members of the opposition will therefore be necessary. “Allowing our pay-as-you-go system to hold, I think it is able to bring together people who come from the left and the right”, further defended Gabriel Attal. An argument still supported by the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire, at the microphone of Franceinfo. “We are working on this only option, that of building a majority” around the reform, he insisted in turn on Monday on Franceinfo.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne rose to the front line on Saturday as soon as the vote of the Senate, dominated by the right, was acquired, late in the evening by 195 votes against 112. The head of government promised to now put all her “energy » so that « this text is voted ». For his part, President Emmanuel Macron, for whom this reform pushing back the retirement age to 64 is politically capital, on the other hand remained on Sunday on his reserve and did not comment on the adoption of the text in the Senate.