This is the final sprint for pension reform. After the favorable vote of the Senate on Saturday, the course of the text before Parliament ends this week… The political editorial of Renaud Dély.
And now ? After the favorable vote of the Senate on Saturday, the course of the text of the pension reform before Parliament ends this week. With, first, the meeting of the joint joint committee, Wednesday, March 15, where seven deputies and seven senators are responsible for giving birth to a common version. And, then, the next day, a vote on this final text in the Senate in the morning and especially in the Assembly in the afternoon. Especially in the Assembly, because that’s where the greatest suspense reigns.
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In the absence of an absolute majority, the government needs the reinforcement of around forty right-wing deputies. In view of the internal divisions at LR, nothing is less certain. An uncertainty that could well lead Elisabeth Borne to resort to article 49.3 which allows a text to be adopted without a vote.
However, the government spokesman, Olivier Véran, nevertheless affirmed that the government does not want it… But this is a classic political tactic. It consists in repeating to the end that one wants to avoid such an outcome in order to blame it on others. In this case to the LR group, where many deputies refuse to follow the instructions of the leading tandem Eric Ciotti-Olivier Marleix who will vote for the reform. The government will therefore display its goodwill for three days and repeat that it wants to build a majority. To try to mitigate the impact of 49.3 if he resolves to do so…
Crop legitimacy
Which would be a big political risk. First, first, in Parliament if a motion of censure were adopted. It’s possible. Some right-wing deputies are working to build bridges between the groups, this is the case of the deputy of the Marne, Charles de Courson. The boss of the National Rally Jordan Bardella even evokes “discussion” with right-wing elected officials.
It is still unlikely that all left-wing deputies, socialists and ecologists included, will vote with the far right to bring down the government. For the executive, the main risk is probably not in the Assembly, but rather in the street. It is to see, after the use of 49.3, the challenge redouble, the CFDT and Laurent Berger radicalize, the blockages harden, the violent slippages multiply, and in the end, the resentment of the opinion grow a little more.
The use of 49.3 is perfectly legal. But it is also a dangerous tool that can undermine the legitimacy of the reform it imposes. And dig a little deeper into the democratic crisis that is eating away at the country.