the government took a hand in the right

The right is in the process of regaining a leading role and annexing the pension reform to make it a “right-wing reform”. In the Senate, the right is in the majority: it is therefore she who sets the tone. The debate progresses slowly, with a train of… senators, obviously, but a little more quickly than in the Assembly where the obstruction of the rebellious deputies had blocked it from Article 3. This time, the famous Article 7, the one that postpones the legal retirement age from 62 to 64, should soon be put to the vote. And there is not much suspense since the senators LR vote, each year, the same amendment.

>> LIVE. Pension reform: senators will examine the decline in the legal age to 64 on Tuesday

It is therefore the right that will make the decision on the whole text, and it is not very comfortable for the government. Firstly because while the Minister of Labour, Olivier Dussopt repeats that his reform is “from the left”, the LR senators want to make it a real reform… on the right! It’s logic. And they apply…

They first adopted an amendment to oblige the executive to submit to Parliament before October 1 a report to add a dose of funded pension. And then they want to challenge the famous grandfather clause to accelerate the abolition of special diets. Enough to put a little more oil on the already boiling fire of the social climate…

The executive caught at his own game

The government does not have much leeway. He wanted to exploit the right, and got himself trapped a bit. First, because the LR deputies are so divided that the executive is not certain to have an absolute majority in the Assembly. And he could be forced to resort to 49-3. And then, if the strikes are prolonged, if the blockages last, in particular in transport, the line can hope to benefit from the dissatisfaction of the users.

Favorable to reform, but hostile to the government, it would then resume its traditional posture as a party of order. This is why the president of the Ile-de-France region Valérie Pécresse announced yesterday to file a complaint against the Insoumis deputy Louis Boyard who urges on social networks to block high schools and universities. By neglecting dialogue with the unions, including reformist like the CFDT, and preferring an agreement with the Republicans, the executive has put itself in the hands of the right. He gave her some oxygen and even… a utility.