Unions and political parties still have several cards up their sleeve to continue to fight against the text promulgated on Saturday by Emmanuel Macron.
“We can’t pass the towel.” While the pension reform was enacted in the wake of its validation by the Constitutional Council on Friday April 14, the secretary general of the CFDT, Laurent Berger, assured Monday April 17 on France 2 that the opposition to the text was not going to demobilize for all that. If Emmanuel Macron hopes to turn the page of this sequence which has lasted since the beginning of the year, in particular by setting a new course during a speech Monday at 8 p.m., “it is out of the question to go and chat as if nothing had happened”warned the number one of the CFDT.
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On the side of the inter-union as political opposition, several levers still exist to challenge the pension reform. Large-scale demonstration, bill aimed at repeal, referendum to put the application of the text on hold… Franceinfo summarizes.
A great mobilization for the 1st of May
The inter-union, which planned to meet Monday evening at the headquarters of Force Ouvrière in Paris ahead of the speech of the Head of State, did not lay down their arms. She has already called for May Day “a day of exceptional and popular mobilization” against reform. The boss of the CFDT calls in particular for “break the house (…) in number of demonstrators in the street” on the occasion of Labor Day. “On the decrees, the concrete implementation of the measures, we are not going to let go of the government”he said on Saturday at the Parisian (interview reserved for subscribers).
Before this major event, the four SNCF unions have already organized “a day of expression of railway anger”, Thursday, April 20. The CGT also discussed actions in all sectors that day, as well as Friday, April 28.
A new motion of censure
On the political and parliamentary front, La France insoumise (LFI) announced the filing of a new motion of censure against the government. “We have taken the initiative to get in touch with our partners from Nupes and with the Liot group to redeposit a motion of censure”declared the deputy for Seine-Saint-Denis, Clémentine Autain, on Sunday in the program “Political Questions”.
The motion, carried by the LFI Chairman of the Finance Committee, Eric Coquerel, intends “denounce the insincerity” and the “unfair” nature of the parliamentary debates on the pension reform”reports Politico.
The spontaneous motion of censure – which differs from the motion of censure provoked when the government engages its responsibility via article 49.3 of the Constitution – requires the signature of at least one tenth of the elected members of the Assembly, ie 58 deputies. “The deputy [Eric Coquerel] would like it to be tabled when we return from the parliamentary recess, in two weeks. Until then, the defenders of the initiative want to know if the number of potential voters, on the side of the group Les Républicains, would be at least as large as during the vote on the March motion.adds Politico.
A bill to repeal the reform
The Socialists had warned: in the event of promulgation of the law, their parliamentarians would deposit a text of law requesting the repeal of the reform. This bill aims to remove the two key measures of the text, i.e. “the postponement of the legal retirement age from 62 to 64 and the acceleration of the increase in the contribution period”could we read in a press release from the political party. “We are going to offer our partners [la] sustain, [elle] will be [déposée] in both assembliesannounced on Monday morning on Public Senate the boss of the party, Olivier Faure, specifying that the text was already written.
The second request for a shared initiative referendum
Second attempt. A first request for shared initiative referendum (RIP), on a bill aimed at “to affirm that the legal retirement age cannot be set beyond 62”, was rejected by the Constitutional Council on Friday. The latter considered that the proposal was not a reform, since it “to stop[ait] to affirm an age limit which appears[ait] already in the texts in force”.
Sensing this decision, left-wing parliamentarians have already filed, on April 13, a new request for RIP with the Sages. Formulated differently to remedy the flaws of the previous version, it also incorporates “a financing measure”, specified Eric Coquerel. This new request will be examined on May 3 by the Constitutional Council.