At the end of an undecided day, the rejection motion tabled by environmentalists was narrowly adopted, with the votes of the Republicans and the National Rally.
A snub, by two votes. By 270 votes, while the majority stood at 268 votes, the deputies adopted, Monday, December 11, a motion to reject the environmentalists on the immigration bill, a major text of Emmanuel Macron’s second five-year term. Consequently, the text will not be examined by the deputies and three options are now on the table: a return to the Senate in the version adopted by the senators, an examination by a joint joint committee (CMP) of 14 parliamentarians, or an abandonment by the government, which would appear as a renunciation.
Until the end, uncertainty reigned in a Palais-Bourbon packed as rarely. It is in the ranks of the majority that the few absences were most felt. Exactly eight deputies were missing to allow the presidential camp to refuel in the face of the coalition of oppositions disagreeing on the content of the text.
“It’s going to be tight, that’s for sure.”
Before the vote, the presidential camp did not anticipate such a result, however, without minimizing the alert. “I do not see the oppositions coming together from LFI to the RN to prevent the examination of a text on immigration”, confided Gérald Darmanin, Sunday afternoon, to Parisian. Monday morning, the boss of the Renaissance deputies was even more affirmative at the franceinfo microphone.
“There will not be a majority to vote on a motion to reject.”
Sylvain Maillard, president of the Renaissance groupon franceinfo
But as the day goes by, concern rises crescendo in the ranks of the majority. What if the National Rally and The Republicans (LR) finally formed an alliance “Carp and Rabbit” with the left, as described by the Minister of the Interior? “It’s going to be tight, that’s for sure.”cautiously advances a majority deputy a few minutes before the vote. “I hope it won’t be voted on, otherwise it’s the apocalypse”anticipates a ministerial advisor to France Télévisions. “At the house of Frank Riester [au ministère chargé des Relations avec le Parlement]they are in interstellar distress”slips a ministerial source.
So to avoid a disavowal, Gérald Darmanin goes all out. According to information from France Télévisions, the minister’s chief of staff spent the morning and early afternoon bombarding the Republican staff with calls and text messages, to ensure that the motion would fall through. ‘water.
But at around 4:30 p.m., the president of LR finally called on his troops to vote for it. “Eric Ciotti did not like Gérald Darmanin’s response, with his little smirk, to LR’s constitutional proposal on Thursday, during our parliamentary nichewe explain to the party leadership. The final blow was the fact that Gérald Darmanin had lunch with Christian Estrosi on Friday in Nice and advertised it on the networks!” After this interview with Eric Ciotti’s sworn enemy, the latter gradually moved towards voting on the rejection motion, like a good number of his elected officials.
“We have the possibility of killing this text: we must vote for this motion!”
A Republican executiveat France Télévisions
At the National Rally, the official position remained secret for a long time. “Surprise !” , responds a party executive in the middle of the day, as if to put pressure on the government until the end. In the hemicycle, the government is trying to convince people of the uselessness of this rejection motion. “Not talking about immigration today, refusing the debate, means refusing what the French are asking for”, launches Gérald Darmanin from the podium of the Assembly, before each parliamentary group takes its position.
Two-thirds of the LR group votes for the rejection motion
Vote “for” the motion of the entire left, vote “against” the entire majority… Edwige Diaz (RN) and Olivier Marleix (LR) in turn announce that they are voting for. For the far right, there is no doubt: each of the 90 deputies will follow the instructions. On the other hand, uncertainty remains over the LR group, sharply divided between fierce opponents of the government and elected officials more inclined to vote with the majority depending on the subject. This time, the needle on the right is moving towards the vote for: out of 62 members, 40 vote for rejection, two against, 11 abstain. Narrowly, the motion is adopted.
Divided, the oppositions are jubilant at having won this round against the majority. In front of journalists, Marine Le Pen said to herself “delighted”. “The macronie is entering an extremely deep crisis of power”, trumpets the boss of LFI elected officials, Mathilde Panot, like a large part of her camp.
“No one can blame us for having rejected a text which Gérald Darmanin himself said was the stiffest ever voted on on the subject.”
A left-wing frameat France Télévisions
With the adoption of this rejection motion, the Minister of the Interior finds himself at the heart of criticism. “Disavowed”he “must draw conclusions”, warns Olivier Faure, boss of the socialists. Monday evening, around 7 p.m., the minister was received by Emmanuel Macron at the Elysée. He presents his resignation, but the head of state “denied”according to the Elysée. “It’s a failure, obviously. (…) I am a man of honor. (…) The President of the Republic has decided”immediately blurted out the minister on TF1.
Monday evening, Elisabeth Borne subsequently brought together the ministers concerned by the text and the presidents of majority groups. But the shock wave will not stop there, bets a ministerial advisor. For the moment, the outcome of the immigration bill remains uncertain. “The President of the Republic has instructed us to present him tomorrow with an option for this text”, assures Gérald Darmanin, Monday evening. The return of the text to the Senate or to the joint joint committee promises a further tightening of the measures it contains, after the relaxation in the law committee in the National Assembly. “We must go to the CMP directly”, believes an important minister.
“I am for the right to die with dignity, so I think that the government would benefit from shortening its suffering by throwing its text in the trash”, quips a left-wing senator. On this subject, on the evening of this defeat for the government, the decision will come from the highest level of the State.