Taking advantage of the debates on the 2023 Social Security finance bill, the Senate, dominated by the right, voted on Saturday for a pension reform providing for raising the legal age to 64, against the opinion of the government which claims to favor consultation before presenting its own reform in January 2023.
It was through an amendment to the Social Security 2023 draft budget that the rapporteur for the old age branch, René-Paul Savary (LR), submitted a reform mechanism to the vote of the senators.
Adopted by 195 votes for, 130 against and 19 abstentions, this amendment initially proposes the establishment of a « convention nationale » responsible for formulating measures for a return to balance, while taking into account hardship, long careers and employment of seniors. In the event of failure, it provides for an acceleration of the Touraine reform extending the contribution period, and the postponement to 64 of the legal retirement age from the 1967 generation. was said ” open “.
Renaissance prefers to temporize
Saluting the ” consistency “ of Mr. Savary from one year to another, the Minister of Solidarity Jean-Christophe Combe assured to join him “about goals”???????? Most “we opted for consultation and a bill in January, not a measure in a social security financing bill”he opposed it.
The majority Renaissance RDPI group came in support of the minister, emphasizing that “even the CGT is coming back to the discussion table, things are moving forward” with the government, which opened the consultation at the beginning of October with unions and employers. But ” It’s time to act “ in view of “deficit of the old-age branch so important”, hammered the general rapporteur Elisabeth Doineau. Some centrists, allies of the majority, however abstained, such as Jean-Marie Vanlerenberghe (MoDem) who thinks that the amendment will ” A bit far “ and that’“This reform must be socially and politically accepted”.
The left came out against the amendment, judging that“there is no danger for the future of the system” according to communists and ecologists, and that the proposed reform would be “incredibly unfair” for those close to the threshold of retirement, according to the socialists.
Whatever happens, the government may not retain this amendment in fine, by the use of the constitutional weapon of 49.3 before the Assembly, which allows it to choose the text on which it engages its responsibility. “We are under no illusions”admitted Philippe Mouiller (LR). “We needed this political message” et “from our position, we are ready to discuss”he launched to the minister.
A new pension reform, what for?
Beyond the financial balance of the system, the government is aiming for a budgetary objective, by reducing the financing of the retirement of civil servants, and an economic objective, hoping to increase the participation of seniors in employment.
- “The social reforms of the executive are unambiguously aimed at reinforcing a break with the historical development of the French social system”, by Jean-Claude Barbier and Michaël Zemmour, researchers at the Center d’économie de la Sorbonne (CES, Université Paris-1 Pantheon Sorbonne).
- “The actual decline is less than the theoretical decline in the retirement age”, by Florence Legros, professor of economics and director of ICN Business School, and Vincent Touzé, economist at the French Observatory of Economic Conditions (OFCE-Sciences Po)
- “The real pension reform would consist of supplementing the pay-as-you-go system with compulsory savings”, by Philippe Juvin, deputy (LR) for Hauts-de-Seine.
- “What level of comfort would we miss so badly that everyone urgently needs to roll up their sleeves after 62 years? », by Nicolas Postel, economist at the Lille Center for Sociological and Economic Studies and Research (Clersé, University of Lille/CNRS) and President of the Orientation Council of the International Network for Research on Organizations and Sustainable Development (Riodd) .