A very turbulent political week is coming to an end in France. The executive was seriously shaken after the vote on the immigration law which, after several rewrites, leans largely to the right, even to the extreme right. The majority came away divided. The Minister of Health Aurélien Rousseau resigned, his colleague from Higher Education tried to do the same but his resignation was refused. Rarely has the atmosphere been so tense in the corridors of the Palais Bourbon.
We have not seen such agitation since the pension reform vote at the beginning of the year. Except that this time, it is in the presidential camp and not among the opposition that the unease is most palpable. There are those who pretend not to see the problem despite the insistence of journalists, those who consider that a text was necessary at all costs. And then there are those, stunned, who could not hide their dismay. 59 deputies from the majority – or a quarter of the Macronists – did not vote for the law. The first of them is Sacha Houlié, the president of the law commission, who assumes a “ fundamental disagreement “.
Usually very pleasant with journalists, he appeared without saying a word and with a defeated expression during the vote on Tuesday evening. And we cannot really say that the interventions in the media ofEmmanuel Macron and Elisabeth Borne sorted things out. “ There’s nothing worse than denial », Tells us Gilles Legendre who is not just anyone. He was the boss of the Macronist deputies during the previous five-year term.
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The majority divided, the left “ disgusted »
On the left is the word “ disgust » which comes up most often when we question members of Nupes. We even witnessed late Tuesday evening a bloodbath from the socialist Jérôme Guedj against the Renaissance MP Monique Iberra, just after the vote: “ One day you were left-winghe told her. And now, you vote with the National Rally… I’m ashamed for you! »
On the side of the right and the extreme right, we are rubbing our hands. Marine Le Pen even spoke of “ ideological victory “. But above all, do not go and tell the deputies of the National Rally that their vote for the text is a political coup prepared in advance. No. They would even have been surprised, according to an RN deputy at the heart of the negotiations: “ You should have seen our faces when we realized that the Macronists were going to vote for our measures…”
A difficult return to school ahead
“ If only the end-of-year break could last until 2027…”, slips a member who did not wait until the end of the week to return to her constituency. And she’s not the only one. The corridors of the Bourbon Palace have been deserted since the passage of the immigration law. “ A field of ruins ”, according to the words of a member of the majority. Except that we will have to continue with potentially the examination of a text on AME, state medical aid, in January. This is a promise made to the right by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne. Enough to reopen barely closed wounds.
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