Updated: Retirement Reform and 49-3
The woman in the red scarf is Mathilde Panot, head of the France Insoumise caucus in the National Assembly:
The young man in a tricolor sash is Louis Boyard of LFI, at the age of 21 the youngest member of the National Assembly:
The orange and yellow vests and signs are from the CGT union., and both deputies were at the picket line of the garbage collectors, as the National Assembly was preparing to vote on the retirement bill. The Senate passed the bill this morning.
So what comes next? Le Monde reports that President Macron on Thursday March 15 from 8:30 p.m. on met with Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, Olivier Dussopt, Minister of Labor, and Franck Riester, who manages relations with the Parliament. According to Le Monde, they realized they did not have the votes, according to “a participant at the meeting.” It was a matter, apparently, of two or three votes missing from Horizons and MoDem, the two allies of Macron’s Renaissance.[1].
But this count also, apparently, depends upon at least 40 votes from Les Républicains (LRs), and she doesn’t have them, with 22 out of the 61 threatening to vote no or to abstain.[2]
According to Le Figaro and Le Monde, and after a final meeting of the Conseil des Ministres, on March 16, Elisabeth Borne will use article 49-3 to pass the bill. That means that she will announce at the beginning of the session that the bill is passed. Marine Le Pen has already announced that she will introduce a motion of censure which–if passed–will force the government to resign.
This post will be updated.
Elisabeth Borne has now announced that she cannot take the “risk” that the “necessary reform” will not pass; thus she is using 49-3 to declare that it is passed.
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Header Image: Shutterstock.com
[1] Claire Gatinois and Ivanne Trippenbach, “Retraites Emmanuel Macron fait pression pour trouver une majorité après un conclave à l’Élysée,” Le Monde, March 16, 2023. https://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2023/03/16/retraites-apres-un-conclave-a-l-elysee-emmanuel-macron-fait-pression-pour-trouver-une-majorite_6165652_823448.html
2] Marie-Pierre Bourgeois, “Retraites: La “tecnique de drague pas fine” du gouvernement pour séduire les députés LR hésitants,” BFMTV. March 14, 2023. https://www.bfmtv.com/politique/les-republicains/retraites-la-technique-de-drague-pas-fine-du-gouvernement-pour-seduire-les-deputes-lr-hesitants_AN-202303140742.html
