La France insoumise asked Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday to submit the European budgetary rules to a referendum to validate the 10 billion euro cut in public spending announced on Sunday by Bruno Le Maire.
“The government must, if it wants to impose austerity on the French, take responsibility for its policy and submit to the approval of all French people,” urged the future president at a press conference. head of the rebellious list in the European elections Manon Aubry.
She denounced “new European budgetary rules which will impose social bleeding and environmental bleeding”. “We will not avoid a democratic debate on this issue,” added the head of the rebellious deputies, Mathilde Panot.
In the event of refusal – very likely – from the President of the Republic, the radical left movement does not exclude to organize a shared initiative referendumadded Ms. Panot, speaking of a “social carnage announced by Bruno Le Maire”.
A foretaste of a wave of austerity?
“These 10 billion euros are a foretaste of a wave of austerity like we have never experienced,” denounced Manon Aubry, co-president of the United Left group in the European Parliament, pointing out fingers the new European fiscal pact.
“We cannot accept these cuts in public budgets without national representation being consulted and this being done by decree,” she said. The government confirmed on Tuesday that it would go through regulations and not through an amended finance bill for 2024 to govern the approximately 10 billion in additional savings announced on Sunday.
The president of the Finance Commission, the rebellious Éric Coquerel, asked on Monday to hear Bruno Le Maire on this issue.
“When a minister is invited by a committee president, he must respond,” supported Mathilde Panot, recognizing however that “Eric Coquerel does not have the power to send bikers directly in front of Bruno Le Maire’s home” .
“In a democracy that functions normally, the national representation has its say on this unprecedented austerity cure which has been announced again and the contours of which we do not know exactly,” she added.