Include abortion in the Constitution and outlaw bullfighting. This is the objective of rebellious France for this day on Thursday. The parliamentary niche of the group which takes place until Thursday evening, midnight, devotes the whole of the day to the proposals of the party founded by Jean-Luc Mélenchon. So, in the National Assembly, every minute counts, because once past midnight, the parliamentary niche will end and no more LFI text proposed during that day can be voted on. The deputies must first validate the first bill of the LFI deputies: to bring the right to abortion into the Constitution.
Formulation compromise
The Republicans denounce a societal escalation, while the Nupes, the alliance of left-wing deputies of which the Insoumis and the government are a part. The latter two have also found a compromise on the wording. The text now proposes the following sentence, to be inserted in article 66 of the Constitution: “The law guarantees the effectiveness and equal access to the right to voluntary termination of pregnancy”.
“This bill aims to guard against a regression by making the infringement of these rights the most difficult task possible”, explained Mathilde Panot, LFI deputy and rapporteur for the text. “Anyone wishing to tackle it will have to have their hands tied. Our wish is clear: we do not want to leave any chance to people hostile to voluntary termination of pregnancy and contraception,” she continued in front of her colleagues.
The sensitive subject of bullfighting
And if the discussions on the constitutionalization of abortion succeed before tonight, then it will be the turn of the ban on bullfighting to be debated in the hemicycle. A very divisive subject even within the different parties. Moreover, the majority of the groups have decided not to give voting instructions to their deputies. Thus, the government is opposed to the prohibition of bullfighting, even if Aurore Bergé, the president of the Renaissance group, is for it, just like its vice-president Sylvain Maillard.
The deputies from the south are generally upwind, including a certain number in the RN. But other elected officials from the far-right party have announced that they will vote for the ban on the practice, like Julien Odoul. Clearly, the text divides, but if it succeeds in being examined, it should a priori be rejected. A large number of deputies, including being opposed to bullfighting, have also noted the execrable attitude of Aymeric Caron in the debates in committee.