Gérard Larcher, President of the Republicans of the Senate, was the guest of 8:30 am franceinfoThursday October 20, 2022. Use of 49.3, strike at TotalÉnergies, murder of Lola, pension reform, election of the president of LR… He answered questions from Marc Fauvelle and Salhia Brakhlia.
49.3: “It’s a sign of government failure”
“It is the sign of a failure of the government in the dialogue which it had told us to engage”, criticizes Gérard Larcher, the day after the use of Article 49.3 of the Constitution by the government to have the first part of the finance bill adopted, without having to obtain the vote of the Assembly, at the risk of being overthrow by a motion of censure. Gérard Larcher ensures that moreover, this budget “is already obsolete, since it is based on 1% growth, when it will undoubtedly be much lower and even very negative”.
Motion of censorship: “We will not mix our voices neither with the far left nor with the far right”
Gérard Larcher ensures that he “we must not add a political crisis to the energy and financial crises we are experiencing”. In addition, the President (LR) of the Senate, does not wish to join the Nupes (which has already tabled a motion) or the RN (which must file one this Thursday): “We will not mix our voices with either the far left or the far right”says Gérard Larcher.
TotalEnergies strike: “There is a majority agreement, it must apply”
“There is a majority agreement, it must apply, and even when we are not in the majority agreement, we must respect it”tackle Gérard Larcher, while the TotalEnergies strikers renewed their strike this Thursday morning at the Gonfreville-l’Orcher refinery (Seine-Maritime) and at the Feyzin fuel depot (Rhône).
The President of the Senate declares that he “companies must be aware of the need to negotiate”and attacks the government which, according to him, “did not anticipate”: “We must anticipate salary negotiations and once the agreements are reached, make the necessary requisitions”.
Strike in nuclear power plants: “The government acted very late”
Gérard Larcher warns that “we cannot go into winter in a situation of tension with the personnel of the power stations when we have to restart a certain number of power stations”. The President of the Senate recognizes that “it’s a difficult and tense negotiation but think that the government acted with a lot of delay and probably a lack of authority”.
Increases in the price of energy: it is necessary “to provide local authorities with a tariff shield”
According to the President of the Senate, “French municipalities have consumed all of their energy budget planned for 2022 as of July 31”and, he insists, they have no “no visibility for 2023”. Gérard Larcher calls on the government to “provide local authorities with a tariff shield, like companies”and ensures that today, “there are only about 8,000 municipalities that can access it”. He therefore wishes “a general measure for the municipalities”which would be “modified according to their situation”. “It’s an emergency”argues the President of the Senate.
Gérard Larcher also wishes “double or even triple the budgets of municipal social action centers”.
Murder of Lola: “It is also the role of politicians to ask questions”
Gérard Larcher describes the murder of this 12-year-old girl on Friday October 14 in Paris as “absolute drama and thinking about what his parents are going through”. Regarding the controversy that is mounting after the accusations of political appropriation by the right and the extreme right, the President of the Senate replies that “it is also the role of politicians to ask questions”.
A question has been put on the table a lot in recent days in view of the profile of the main suspect, who was under “obligation to leave France”: are these obligations to leave French territory sufficiently executed? “They are less than 10%, it is not illegitimate to ask the question ‘serenely’, respecting the pain [de la famille]”replies Gérard Larcher. “There has been a collective responsibility for a long time that the OQTFs are not executed, we will have to equip ourselves with tools”advocates Gérard Larcher.
“A link” between mass immigration and delinquency
Asked about the link made by some on the right and on the extreme right between mass immigration and hyperviolence, Gérard Larcher replies that he thinks that“there is a link that must be made, but that does not mean that all people who are in a regular or irregular immigration situation are potential offenders”.
The President of the Senate warns that if we do not deal with the subjects of violence and delinquency, “we end with the Italian vote and the Swedish vote” [respectivement Première ministre post-fasciste, et gouvernement soutenu par l’extrême-droite].
Gérard Larcher finally requests the extension of the deadlines for house arrest or control “after a decision of OQTF, so that the court decision is executed”.
Pension reform: senators “will be very attentive to the question of hardship”
Gérard Larcher warns that senators “will be very attentive to the issue of hardship”, during the debates which will begin in November. The President of the Senate is concerned about the reference age for retirement. According to him, “if we don’t change it, we will continue to have the same procedure vis-à-vis seniors, we will no longer train after 55, we will use the pre-retirement procedure most of the time forced”.
The Senate refuses to include abortion in the Constitution: “My compass is the Veil law”
The right-wing majority Senate rejected on Wednesday, October 19 at first reading a cross-partisan bill to include the right to abortion in the Constitution, supported by the government. Gérard Larcher affirms that his “compass is the Veil law, and we know that article 2 of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which has constitutional value, protects in the name of women’s freedom”. Thus, according to him, “the Veil law is protected under article 2”.
The President of the Senate warns that we “do not touch the Constitution by impulse: we touch it when it is absolutely necessary and fundamental”and takes the opportunity to quote Montesquieu who said “touch the Constitution only with a trembling hand”.
Appointment of Jean Castex at the head of the RATP: “a good choice”
Gérard Larcher thinks that the appointment of Jean Castex as head of the RATP proposed by the Élysée “is a good choice” and recalls that the former Prime Minister “had been chosen to chair the agency that makes investments in the field of transport: he had had the unanimity of the Commission in the Senate”.
Presidency of LR: the candidates have in common to believe “in the future of a right”
“Between the candidates, there is a common point, they believe in the future of a right that is not united in the majority of Emmanuel Macron, and a right impervious to the far right”says Gérard Larcher, a little less than 2 months before the party congress which will designate the future president, the weekend of December 3 and 4.
Gérard Larcher supports Bruno Retailleau “because he is the balance, he has convictions, and he wants to deeply refound the right”. Aurélien Pradié, also a candidate, “bet on the social, which is not something that I dislike”, recognizes the President of the Senate. For Gérard Larcher, “it is up to all of us to decide what the party line will be and for me it is very clear: it is part of the values that bring us together and in a new perspective to regain the confidence of the French”.
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