Pensions: the reluctance of the majority, the risk of accepting the reform

Billed as the centerpiece of Emmanuel Macron’s second five-year term, pension reform is proving to be a chronicle of a presidential camp marred by doubt. By presenting her draft on January 10, Prime Minister Elizabeth Bourne assumed she had a consistent majority in the National Assembly over the text, which would move the legal retirement age from 62 to 64.

In its calculations, to reach the 289 votes needed to pass the text, the government counted 250 deputies of the three majority groups (Renaissance, MoDem and Horizons) and 62 elected members of the Les Républicains party. LR). After several meetings, Elizabeth Bourne and the new president of LR Eric Ciotti managed to find a common language. The government, like the elected representatives of the Alpes-Maritimes, then thought to bring in all right-wing MPs.

But in a few days this political guarantee was broken. Despite some concessions to the right, such as lowering the legal departure age from 65 to 64, about fifteen LR MPs remain opposed in principle, making the outcome of the vote uncertain. “The National Assembly. On Monday, January 30, the day before the bill went to the Social Affairs Committee, the Prime Minister once again proved that he was inflexible by confirming to Franceinfo that the heart of the bill – that is, the passage of 64 years. – “no more arguing”.

This ambiguous position of the LR elected among the Macronist deputies is infuriating, because few have the illusion of mobilizing them in the hemicycle to defend the government’s project. “LR group is untrustworthy under any circumstances”, The Renaissance President of the Law Commission, Sacha Houllier, regrets.

“weakness”

For the executive power, the threat of not having a majority in the National Assembly also appears within its own ranks. From the Renaissance left wing to the MoDem group that runs across the chosen horizon, some report. “weakness” Insisting on the content and goals of the pension reform. After the text was presented, about fifteen Macronist MPs publicly threatened to oppose the text. ” as it is “. In the context of the overwhelming majority, we’d make little case that these elected officials would quickly stand out as slingers. But in today’s situation of a relative majority, they become debatable, even complacent MPs. “I call on the majority parties, Renaissance, Horizon and MoDem, to unite. (…) We are all interested in this project”Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire called Sunday newspaper.