President Emmanuel Macron, who brought together the leaders of the majority on Wednesday evening on the thorny question of pensions, does not rule out dissolving the National Assembly in the event of a vote of a motion of censure against the government, reported Thursday Minister of Labor Olivier Dussopt.
“If all the oppositions came together to adopt a motion of censure and bring down the government, he (the President of the Republic, editor’s note) would leave it to the French and the French would decide and say what is the new majority they want. “, said on LCI Olivier Dussopt, responsible for initiating new consultations on pensions from next week.
“And obviously (…) we would be campaigning for the president to be comforted,” added the minister.
The executive procrastinates on its reform
The executive has decided to delay its criticized pension reform, reopening a new round of consultations with social partners and political forces with a view to adopting a comprehensive bill “before the end of winter”, Elisabeth Borne told AFP on Thursday. She recalled that the pension reform was to come into force “in the summer of 2023”.
A dedicated bill, however, presents a risk for the executive, which only has a relative majority in the Assembly. He could force him to draw Article 49.3 of the Constitution, which allows the adoption of a text without a vote except for a motion of censure, but can only be used once per parliamentary session.
The government could use 49.3
On the other hand, the government can use this weapon of 49.3 at will on the budgetary texts, which are the social security financing bills (PLFSS). “The 49.3 is a constitutional tool which makes it possible to overcome blockages, obstructions, which exposes the government to a motion of censure”, recalled Olivier Dussopt.
But “if I say that we want consultation with both the social partners and the parliamentary groups, it is because at no time have we given up on creating the conditions for a majority, for convergence, on the system retirement,” he said.