The Prime Minister has once again engaged the responsibility of her government. LFI immediately announced that it was filing a new motion of censure.
SourceAFP
© Vincent Isore / MAXPPP / IP3 PRESS/MAXPPP
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PFor the ninth time, Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne resorted on Sunday December 11 to Article 49.3 of the Constitution in order to have the “expenditure” part and the entire draft State budget for 2023 adopted without a vote in new reading before the National Assembly. It is “a budget that we need on time, on the 1ster January 2023”, justified the head of government. The deputies of La France insoumise immediately replied by tabling a new motion of censure.
In front of a very sparse hemicycle for this Sunday session, most of the deputies being in the constituency, the head of government “regretted” a “multiplication of motions (which) considerably limited the time for discussions”. Sunday’s received only 78 votes. She assured not to abandon her “willingness to build compromises” and mentioned measures retained by the Senate on “the financing of public transport in Île-de-France” or “the fight against unworthy housing overseas” .
To this ninth 49.3, the LFI deputies responded with a ninth motion of censure from the left (including three from all of Nupes) against “the authoritarianism of the government (which) has no limit”. The motion could be studied on Tuesday or Wednesday, but has little more chance of succeeding. Its rejection would mean adoption of the entire draft state budget in a new reading, before a final passage in the Senate, and a very likely tenth 49.3 next week in the Assembly to conclude its examination.
Recipes and pensions
On Sunday, deputies from left and right took advantage of their speaking time on the previous LFI censure motion to defend their positions and also address pension reform. “You are in the minority, so you are suppressing the vote”, accused Éric Coquerel (LFI), accusing the government of having dodged hot budget debates with 49.3, on local taxes in particular, or of having discarded adopted amendments. , such as the 3 billion in investments in rail. On retreats, “you will need much more than a 49.3 to get by,” he said.
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Elisabeth Borne defended in return a text enriched with contributions from the oppositions “on the half share of widows” or “on alternative fuels”. Socialist Valérie Rabault criticized “thresholds” on the energy tariff shield which “will leave many local authorities on the floor”. Véronique Louwagie (LR) criticized, like other elected officials, a “manifestly insincere budget” in view of the growth forecasts.
“We have so far shown benevolence and patience in the interest of the country”, but “the temptation to table our own motion of censure could gain ground”, she warned. An LR no-confidence motion would probably be the only one with a chance of mustering enough votes to bring down the government. For the National Rally group, Alexandre Sabatou denounced an “overabundance” of 49.3 to prepare its “use for the terrifying pension reform”.