The “revenue” part of the finance bill for 2023 will not be entitled to its second reading in the National Assembly. Even before the deputies had started their discussion, the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, went up to the podium, at the beginning of the afternoon, Thursday, December 8, to immediately trigger article 49, paragraph 3 of the Constitution and once again engage the responsibility of his government on the first part of the budget.
If the initial objective of the leaders of the majority was to let the deputies address at least the motion of rejection prior to the text tabled by the socialist group, the fear of seeing the opposition mobilizing en masse at the time of the vote led the Prime Minister to anticipate his arrival to engage this eighth 49.3 of the fall. In a Chamber where the government only has a relative majority, Elisabeth Borne justified her decision by the fact that“none of the opposition groups have informed us of any changes in their position on their final vote”.
After recalling that “France must be provided with a budget on the 1is next January »the Prime Minister also mentioned the need to adopt this text ” within the time allowed “. While the Constitution provides for a period of seventy days for the examination of the budget, the deadline for its final adoption is set for December 16 at midnight. “Our debate time has been shortened by the systematic tabling of motions of censure “, she accused, aiming without naming them the group of La France insoumise. In response to this new 49.3, the “rebellious” president, Mathilde Panot, has also announced the filing of an eighth motion of censure to overthrow the government.
“More and more authoritarian management”
If Elisabeth Borne congratulated herself in her speech “of a text enriched by parliamentary work”, the “revenue” part of the budget was only marginally amended during the parliamentary shuttle. The main measures, such as the indexation of the income tax scale to inflation (EUR 6 billion) and, above all, the highly contested abolition in two years of the contribution on the added value of companies (EUR 8 billion euros in total), have been retained.
Although the text includes the establishment of a contribution on companies in the oil, coal, refining and gas sectors, the Prime Minister, by quickly triggering this 49.3, also prevents the presidential coalition from spreading a new times its divisions on superprofits. The president of the MoDem group, Jean-Paul Mattei, had in fact again tabled his amendment setting up a temporary surcharge on superdividends. At first reading, this amendment was adopted in public session, against the advice of the government, with the contribution of nineteen Renaissance deputies, causing tension among the macronists.
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