The countdown has begun: the inflammable pension reform project in France arrived on Monday before the National Assembly for two high-risk weeks, under pressure from opponents, who are organizing two new days of mobilization.
A text of “equity and progress”, “reform or bankruptcy”: the government tried to defend its project, in a very rowdy atmosphere.
The oppositions scrapped on requests for a referendum on the government project, which provides for a decline in the retirement age from 62 to 64 years.
It is “a reform of equity and progress which distributes the effort in a fair way”, affirmed the Minister of Labor, Olivier Dussopt, ready to “go further” to improve the employment of seniors or the pensions of women. The former socialist was heckled by the left, who called him “sold”.
Following him, the Minister of Public Accounts, Gabriel Attal, stepped up to the plate against opponents of the project, calling on them to choose between “general interest” and “electoral interest”. “It’s reform or bankruptcy” of the pension system, he said.
The two weeks of planned examination promise to be high risk on this flagship reform of Emmanuel Macron’s second five-year term, which only has a relative majority in the Assembly.
As two days of action approach, Tuesday and Saturday, at the call of the inter-union, the head of government, Élisabeth Borne, repeated that with this legal age at 64, “we are asking for a collective effort to the French”, but “our objective is to ensure the future of our pay-as-you-go pension system”.
In a last-minute concession, Mme Borne announced that people who started working between the ages of 20 and 21 will be able to retire at 63, an extension of the long career system – a request from LR deputies (right), whose voices are crucial.
Will this gesture be enough? No, for the deputy LR Aurélien Pradié in particular, who asks to go further for those who started to contribute early.
“Carpet Merchants”
The president of the far-right National Rally group, Marine Le Pen, mocked Monday a “negotiation of carpet merchants” between the government and LR on pension reform.
On the side of the unions, the effort of Mme Borne did not convince: it is a “patch” which “is not the answer” expected “to the massive mobilization observed”, denounced Laurent Berger, the boss of the CFDT union.
Already two days of strikes and demonstrations, on January 19 and 31, each time brought together more than a million demonstrators according to the police, more than two million according to the organizers.
“We are counting on the fact that there are mobilizations so that the elected representatives of the Republic take into account the opinion of the citizens”, declared Monday the secretary general of the CGT, Philippe Martinez.
Traffic will be severely disrupted on Tuesday at SNCF and RATP, the Paris transport network.
“Project against project”
The deputies must tackle the some 20,000 amendments tabled on the bill, including 13,000 by La France insoumise (LFI, far left) – “stupid and nasty obstruction”, curries the government spokesperson, Olivier Veran.
“20,000 amendments is to make believe that we want the debate and oppose the violence of the obstruction”, was annoyed the Minister of Labor, Olivier Dussopt. Mme Borne had said she hoped “a real debate, project against project”, instead of the “caricatures” seen until then, according to her.
But this flow of amendments “allows you to manage the tempo a little, to speed up, to slow down”, instead of letting the pace be dictated, opposes the rebellious François Ruffin.
The macronists, who only have a relative majority, are not immune to mishaps during votes. And if the Assembly does not come to the end of the amendments by midnight February 17, the text will pass to the Senate, because of the choice of the executive to resort to an amending budget of Social Security.
This constrained time is strongly criticized by the oppositions, which nevertheless intend to manage to discuss article 7 devoted to the postponement of the retirement age. The other hot spots of the text focus on the situation of women, who could be losers with the decline in the retirement age, on the arduousness or even on the employment of seniors.