The pension reform arrives in the National Assembly on February 6 and the opposition forces are determined to block the text. Whether in the hemicycle or in the street, everyone has their own strategy.
Three days of debates in the Social Affairs Committee and only two articles out of the twenty that account for the pension reform have been dealt with. Of the more than 7,000 amendments tabled, only a tiny part was debated. What announce the color of the debates which are preparing for the National Assembly from Monday, February 6 and the arrival of the bill in the hemicycle. With more than 20,000 amendments tabled by the various political groups, the debates will move forward in step. However, the deputies will be bound by time because of article 47.1 of the Constitution which limits the examination of the text in Parliament to 50 days and the debates in the Palais Bourbon to only 20 days. Despite the constraints, the oppositions have put themselves in working order to challenge the pension reform and stand up to the government.
The left combines amendments and demonstrations against pension reform
For once, the Nupes is the author of 18,000 amendments out of the 20,000 filed against the pension reform. Accused of playing the card of parliamentary obstruction and playing into the hands of the majority, La France insoumise – the majority force of the left alliance – defends itself and explains that it wants with all these rectifications “to highlight the immense regression imposed by this reform” and “force the government to explain itself on each article of its bill”. It is above all three central points of the text that are targeted: the postponement of the retirement age to 64, the increase in the contribution period and the criteria of arduousness.
But the left, if it leads the parliamentary fight with amendments, is also present on the front of the demonstrations against the pension reform. On each day of mobilization, the elected representatives of the left join the processions alongside the French and the unions. Some even make the link between the two struggles like Sandrine Rousseau who on January 31 took part in the mobilizations then reported the words of the demonstrators in the hemicycle.
The National Rally thinks of the referendum
The extreme right is absent from the processions, its presence not being desired by the unions. A point which does not however pose a problem for the elected representatives of the National Rally who rather believe in the power of institutions. “Our role is to lead the opposition in the National Assembly,” recalled Marine Le Pen from the Bourbon Palace a week before the text arrived. But the fight should not go through the amendments so much, only 200 were tabled by the party to the flame. A figure which is worth to the RN to be qualified as “front opposition” by the left. No, the far right preferred to bet on the referendum motion – note that the Nupes had also filed a motion, but the draw favored the RN -.
If the motion is passed then the pension reform will be submitted to the vote of the French, but it is still necessary that the two parliamentary assemblies vote the motion by majority and that the President of the Republic, at the origin of the reform, consents to the organization of the referendum. What is not won in advance.
Republicans want to influence pension reform
In the camp of the Republicans there is no question of blocking the pension reform, on the other hand the current version of the text is not unanimous with the deputies of the right. While the Head of State and the Prime Minister thought they had secured the support of elected LRs, internal divisions reshuffled the cards. The deputies knowing that they are essential to the majority to have the text adopted wish to enjoy this position to modify the reform according to their desires. Several changes have already been made (postponement of the age to 64 instead of 65 or the revaluation of pensions). But some want more.
They would be between 10 and 20 deputies from the so-called popular right, who deemed the text still too unfair. It is little but enough to call into question the majority sought by the government. These elected officials have other requirements that give the majority food for thought. The Republicans for their part could be the winners by weighing in on the final version of the reform.
Calendar of the examination of the pension reform in the Assembly
- From January 30 to February 1, 2023: examination of the text by the Social Affairs Committee
- From February 6 to February 20, 2023: examination of the text in session – unless adopted in committee
- From February 17: examination of the text by the Senate in first reading
- March 4, 2023: examination of the text in a joint committee (a delegation of deputies and senators)
- March 26: on this date, in the absence of an agreement, the government may request that the debates be stopped: the text is indeed inserted in the draft amending budget of the Secu, which limits the debates in Parliament to fifty days in total.