Pension reform: who are the Liot deputies who want to table a cross-partisan motion of censure?

It is the smallest of the ten political groups formed in the National Assembly. The Liot group, for Independent Freedoms Overseas and Territories, has 20 deputies in its ranks and intends to play the role of catalyst against the pension reform, while article 49.3 was initiated by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne. Indeed, these parliamentarians are preparing to table a motion of cross-partisan censure against the bill, and it could be voted on by many political figures of all stripes. So who are they?

An independent group in the Assembly

The Libertés, Indépendants Outre-mer et Territoires group is made up of deputies of various political leanings, rather center-right, but claiming a strong territorial anchorage. It is an independent group in which there are elected representatives from overseas, Corsican nationalists and centrists. Recently, in September 2022, four dissidents from the Socialist Party decided to join them.

This group was formed in 2018, during the previous legislature, under the impetus of the related LREM deputy from Morbihan, Paul Molac, and it is led by Bertrand Pancher (photo), deputy of the Meuse and from the Radical Party. As explained West France, the objective of the creation of this formation was to access the advantages available to a parliamentary group. Indeed, this makes it possible to obtain an office and a secretariat at the Assembly, to have more speaking time, a parliamentary niche per session or even the possibility of creating a commission of inquiry. And while they voted for previous reforms, wanted by the majority, these deputies appear opposed to the pension bill. They have also been registered in the opposition since July 2020.

The left in favor of the motion of censure of the Liot group

Now the ball is in this group’s court. The leader of the Insoumis Mathilde Panot had thus indicated, in prelude to the triggering of article 49.3, that the LFI group would vote in favor of a motion of rejection, before a probable motion of censure. “We have no problem if it is Liot who carries the motion. We have already done it for a referendum motion” and “there will be no co-signatories of the RN in the cross-partisan motion”, she had insisted . However, this does not prevent far-right elected officials from voting for it in an attempt to bring down the government, even though Marine Le Pen has already announced the filing of a motion of censure.

The secretary general of the French Communist Party (PCF) Fabien Roussel has also announced his support for a motion tabled by Liot. Finally, could LR deputies opposed to the government project join it? Party boss Éric Ciotti assured Thursday that the deputies of his group would not vote for any motion of censure. But the deputy Aurélien Pradié, at the forefront among the rebels of the party, said that he would “think”, with several of his colleagues, to vote one which would not come from the RN, nor from the Nupes. It could therefore be that of the Liot group.