End of suspense. After several weeks of conjecture and warm-up on the side of the unions and the opposition, the question of pension reform has finally been decided. Or, in any case, on the way in which it will be proposed to the deputies. It was the great absence of the Social Security financing bill (PLFSS), also presented on Monday… Which raised fears of “surprise” government amendments. Eventually, it will be a dedicated bill.
On the evening of Wednesday September 28, the President of the Republic and his Prime Minister brought together several ministers and the leaders of the majority to take the pulse. The government wants promote dialogue and consultation “to prepare a text of law on the reform of the pensions which will be finalized by Christmas with a view to a passage to the Parliament at the beginning of 2023, declared to AFP Elisabeth Borne after this working dinner. The controversial reform still provides for a “ progressive postponement of the retirement age by four months per year, culminating in 65 years in 2031 “, she also recalled. On the other hand, there are no plans to move the age of the full rate, today at 67 years old.
Stormy autumn ahead
This choice hardly convinces the unions. ” The background has not changed. A reform which will consist in making the population of this country work longer, it is not only a problem of method », declared the secretary general of the CGT, Philippe Martinez, Thursday morning on France 2… before parading in the streets of Paris in the afternoon, following a call for a strike (originally to ask the bosses for a revaluation salaries). “I think that the consultation will not last longhe quipped on the cobblestones of Paris. If it is to say ‘the retirement age will be raised‘, we won’t stay long around the table “. The story is more or less the same with the other major French trade union, the CFDT: ” We will oppose raising the age to 65 “, recalled its secretary general, Laurent Berger, in a press release.
Passage in force… or dissolution
Even if the government is looking for a compromise, it does not exclude the use of 49.3, ” one of the tools available to the government if there is a blockage situation “warned the Prime Minister on Monday morning on BFM TV. This article of the Constitution allows the government to pass a text that it presents to the National Assembly… without a vote. But it generally provokes the tabling of a motion of censure by the deputies which, if adopted, obliges the government to resign.
For the first time on Wednesday evening, the Elysée also mentioned the possible dissolution of the National Assembly. The last dates back to 1997, under Jacques Chirac. It had ended in bitter failure: the legislative elections that followed had resulted in cohabitation with the Left… Unpopular pension reform, headwinds and inflation opposition promise an explosive combo this fall.