After the deputies, the senators also validated at first reading the second package of measures for purchasing power overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday. By 225 for and 101 against, the High Assembly gave the green light a little before 4 a.m. to the discount of 30 centimes on fuel in September-October, then 10 centimes in November-December, as well as to the extension of the tariff shield on energy prices or aid of 230 million euros for homes that heat with fuel oil. According to the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire, this last measure concerns around three million people.
The Senate, with a right-wing majority, also validated two amendments against the government’s opinion. First, by approving the distribution of the exceptional back-to-school bonus of 150 euros only to beneficiaries of the activity bonus, when the initial text planned to distribute a bonus of 100 euros to all people who receive social minima such as the RSA or student grants. The measurement “would amount to withdrawing the benefit of aid from 4 million poor households” lamented the Minister of Public Accounts Gabriel Attal.
The vote also angered the left-wing opposition, already scalded by another amendment voted on Monday, which leaves employers the possibility of buying back the RTT of their employees.
Upcoming discussions between deputies and senators
These two measures will be at the heart of the discussions on Wednesday evening: the deputies and senators must meet again in a joint committee to agree on a common text.
The parliamentary shuttle is a little further ahead on the first part of measures for purchasing power. The National Assembly and the Senate must validate it definitively in the afternoon.