Is the pension reform finally adopted? After two and a half months under high social tension, the government of Elisabeth Borne chose, last Thursday, not to go as far as the vote in the National Assembly, but to favor recourse to article 49.3. It was enough to inflame the debate. Since this decisive day and the rejection of the two motions of censure tabled in the National Assembly on Monday, wild mobilizations have followed one another in several major cities in France. What is the future of this pension reform now? Can it still be revoked?
Thursday, March 16, sounded like a waking nightmare for many French people, who saw one of their fears come true: to see the government impose recourse to article 49.3 without going through a vote in the National Assembly. . After weeks of negotiations, tireless social mobilization and an impossible vote during the examination of the text in the National Assembly, the executive chose to pass this project in force, despite the support of the Senate.
As soon as the decision was announced, thousands of French people took to the streets to make their voices and their discontent heard. Hope was still high with the possibility of seeing the government of Elisabeth Borne forced to resign with the filing of two motions of censure. However, despite a very tight vote in the National Assembly, the main motion of censure did not obtain the required votes: out of 287 deputies required, 278 validated the text. The deputy LR Aurélien Pradié however did not fail to evoke “an absolutely considerable electroshock, which the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister cannot ignore”.
After the failure of the two motions of censure, what are the new prospects for pension reform? The parliamentarians of Nupes have already announced the referral to the Constitutional Council to discuss the possibility of a referendum of shared initiative. It would be the first time that such a device could be put in place. The government, for its part, has already announced the direct referral of the proceedings.
In the street, social protest is becoming more and more imposing with demonstrations that break out every evening to show deep disagreement with this forced passage of the executive. A new day of demonstrations is also scheduled for Thursday, March 23 and the unions want to continue the movement.
Within the framework of the Constitutional Council, several measures could be challenged such as the provisions put in place for the senior index, possibly singled out for their unconstitutional nature. It should also be interested in the use of article 49.3, never used until today on an amending law.
To date, the President of the Republic is bound by this deadline for referral to the Constitutional Council for the promulgation of the law. This period can be reduced to eight days if Elisabeth Borne seizes the Council “urgently”, which would allow the reform to be promulgated next week. For the time being, the President of the Republic must speak on Wednesday, but would not, according to several participants in a meeting at the Elysée and as reported by 20 Minutes, have no intention of dissolving the Assembly, nor to reshuffle the government.
