Each vote is a fight for the relative majority of Emmanuel Macron. LREM deputies were outvoted in a vote on Saturday July 23 in the National Assembly. The parliamentarians decided to allocate 120 million to the departments which pay the RSA in 2022, to fully compensate for the 4% increase in this benefit programmed by the State.
An amendment to this effect to the amended draft budget for 2022 was adopted by 125 votes to 98, by the conjunction of favorable votes from the left, the RN, the LRs but also, and this is the first time, from the deputies of the group Horizons ally of the majority. The 13 deputies present from this group, founded at the instigation of former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, had they voted against, however, would not have overturned the ballot.
A recess followed soon after as tempers flared. “Trying to vote the hussar of credits to communities does not seem appropriate to me”launched the president of the LREM deputies Aurore Bergé, stressing that it is not now that the senatorial elections are played. “You have to know when to stop, we are not going to subsidize all the expenses of the communities”warned the general rapporteur of the Budget Jean-René Cazeneuve, furious.
“I am amazed to see parliamentarians who only have the word restoration of public finances in their mouths engage[r] such public expenditure.”
Bruno the MayorEconomy Minister
The contentious amendment, initially brought by the independent group LIOT, had already been adopted in committee ten days ago, with another amendment to 1.1 billion euros, so that the State compensates communities for the general increase 3.5% for civil servants from 1 July. This other amendment was narrowly rejected in the hemicycle, by 114 votes against 111.
The National Assembly voted to abolish the audiovisual license fee at the start of the session and narrowly rejected a tax on the “superprofits” of large groups, then the debates stalled. Bruno Le Maire also said he was in favor of increasing the discount on the liter of fuel from 18 to 30 cents, in a compromise with the LR deputies.
While some 375 amendments are still on the menu, it was not possible to complete the examination of this rectified budget overnight. Debates on the amended draft budget must therefore resume on Monday afternoon.