Fgreen of deputies and senators in the second part of measures in favor of purchasing power. After the deputies, the senators approved the rectified budget for 2022 by 222 votes against 97, with the support in particular of LR, the centrists and the majority RDPI group En Marche. The left voted against. For the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, it is “a political victory” and “the demonstration that we are moving forward”… but sometimes in pain.
Purchasing power was a key subject of the presidential campaign and constituted the first big piece of the mandate, in the form of a test for the “new method” of the executive, deprived of an absolute majority at the Palais-Bourbon and which is turned to the right to fill in the voices.
Tensions in the Assembly
After a first part validated on Wednesday including 20 billion euros in expenditure, it is the turn of the rectified draft budget for 2022 and its new batch of measures to deal with inflation to be submitted to the final vote. The National Assembly approved it by 292 votes for, 120 against and 98 abstentions. In addition to the majority, most of the LR deputies spoke out in favor by proclaiming themselves “the only opposition useful to the French”. RN elected officials abstained, arguing that they did not want to “hinder” the few “advances” made. The left voted against, after a last stand by the Socialists via a final motion of rejection against the “crumbs” proposed. Referring to the abolition of privileges on the night of August 4, 1789, the boss of the LFI group Mathilde Panot asked on this anniversary date “what is left? », denouncing the « regeneration of a caste society ».
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During this last session, again stormy, where the invectives were fired, the Minister of Public Accounts Gabriel Attal, himself, criticized an “unfortunate drift of a certain left gone to the extreme”. The draft budget opens up 44 billion euros in credits, including 9.7 to finance the 100% renationalization of EDF. Are programmed the revaluation of the point of index of the civil servants, the abolition of the audio-visual royalty, the continuation of the tariff shield on energy and the fuel discount at 30 centimes per liter in September-October then at 10 in November-December.
Between the presidential majority and the right, common ground was found on Wednesday evening in a joint joint committee, in particular on the controversial subject of monetization of RTTs, which the Senate wanted to perpetuate. This takeover by voluntary companies of the RTT of employees, for those ready to work more, will finally be possible until the end of 2025. caused an outcry on the left, there too a compromise was recorded. The bonus will be paid to the beneficiaries of the minima and also to those receiving the activity bonus.
” Work more “
In the eyes of MP LR Véronique Louwagie, “it’s the return of working more to earn more”, a slogan of Nicolas Sarkozy. For his favorable vote on Thursday at the end of the day, the boss of LR senators, Bruno Retailleau, had set the condition of maintaining another addition from the Senate, on the establishment of a biometric Vitale card. This was the case, to fight against fraud. But there will be no tax on the “superprofits” of large groups, as demanded by the left, the extreme right and by certain centrists. Bruno Le Maire hammered home his opposition to the “Pavlovian tax reflex”.
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The idea of a supertax, already applied in Great Britain or Italy, and demanded by the Secretary General of the UN Antonio Guterres, had been revived by the net profit made by TotalEnergies in the second quarter, which more than doubled, to $5.7 billion. The debate should resurface in the fall. In the amending finance bill for 2022 there is also support for local authorities, with a total envelope ultimately estimated at 600 million euros. Bruno Le Maire tried to tighten the strings of public finances, but had to give in several times after hiccups for the macronists in the Assembly, or votes against his will in the Senate. Some 500 million euros of expenses were finally added.
The first component in favor of purchasing power, which obtained the green light from Parliament on Wednesday, includes the tripling of the ceiling of the Macron bonus that can be paid by employers, the 4% increase in pensions and several allowances, as well as the “deconjugalization” of the allowance for disabled adults – added in a rare moment of consensus at the Assembly.
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“It is the daily life of many fellow citizens that will be improved”, applauded Emmanuel Macron. “The culture of compromise is being built. This is what the French are asking of us”, according to Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne. These last elections on Thursday mark the break in work until the start of the school year. There will be no extraordinary session in September for the first time in twenty years, an illustration of the desire to better prepare the texts upstream.