This is neither a surprise nor a novelty. The National Assembly rejected, Tuesday evening, December 13, a motion of censure tabled by the deputies of La France insoumise (LFI) against the government, which is worth adopting in new reading of the draft budget 2023.
This new motion responded to the constitutional weapon of 49.3, triggered for the ninth time by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne during this budgetary autumn, for lack of an absolute majority at the Palais Bourbon. It collected only 102 supporters, far from the absolute majority of 289 votes necessary to bring down the government.
After a last passage of the budget in the Senate, a tenth 49.3 should be activated in the Assembly during the week, to overcome the examination of this finance bill.
Reference to Raymond Queneau and the “Truman Show”
In the hemicycle, Elisabeth Borne criticized the LFI deputies for their opposition “systematic” and their “excess”. The Prime Minister quoted the writer Raymond Queneau, “who wrote the same story 99 times, in 99 different ways, in his “Exercises in Style””as well as the movie The Truman Showbecause “you collide with the painted walls of your imaginary world”, she told BIA. Mme Borne defended among other measures “the bonus of 100 euros to help low-income workers in the face of rising fuel prices”.
Previously, the LFI Charlotte Leduc had launched hostilities against the executive, castigating the “refusal to tax superprofits” and the “contempt for democratic institutions” with this repeated recourse to 49.3.
“You keep trampling on the opposition”accused the MP for Moselle, mentioning the last-minute amendment introduced by the government via 49.3 to make ” pay “ to employees “part of their personal training account”.
“Neither the Assembly, nor the Senate, nor even the finance committees were able to debate this proposal. It creaks even in your ranks”she pointed out.
A measure that causes a stir
Because this measure caused a stir during the meeting of the Renaissance group on Tuesday morning, and aroused the ire of the unions. Socialist Inaki Echaniz denounced a “unworthy secret method”and environmentalist Benjamin Lucas a “amendment that came out of nowhere”. On the right, the deputy Les Républicains (LR) Marie-Christine Dalloz criticized the “decommissioning of France”member of “quinte of the most indebted countries of the European Union”.
“The start of the new school year in January promises to be decisive and difficult, we are waiting for you at the turn”launched MP LR, while the government intends to present its pension reform on January 10.
In the presidential camp, Mathieu Lefèvre (Renaissance) attacked “extreme left” for which “Censorship begins to rhyme with usury. (…) You yourself no longer believe it”. His MoDem colleague Perrine Goulet again pleaded for increased taxation of capital income, while the government rejected a centrist proposal to tax more “super dividends” in large companies.