Government. The holidays will still wait for the ministers, who will not have to go too far

In a tense post-electoral context, the ministers are asked to « participate in the work » until the end of the parliamentary session scheduled for this stage on August 7, the head of government asked in a circular to the government entitled « organization of government office during the summer vacation period.

A stormy parliamentary session

This session is the first since the legislative elections after which the government was deprived of an absolute majority, which slows down or even disrupts the debates, which are proving to be particularly stormy. Several amendments to the texts on purchasing power have thus been adopted against the will of the government, in particular on Monday evening on fuel oil. In addition, sessions of questions to the government must notably be held until the end of the summer work.

The same circular also indicates that the last Council of Ministers before the summer break will take place on Friday July 29, and the first of the new school year will be held on August 24.

« The Ibiza affair » has left its mark

Between the end of the session and August 24, ministers « who wish to be absent will have to choose a destination compatible with the exercise of their responsibilities », underlines the circular drawn up by the General Secretariat of the Government (SGG), which depends on Matignon. The text does not precisely define what is « compatible » or not but therefore puts pressure on the ministers, just a few months after the « Ibiza affair » which affected Jean-Michel Blanquer. The Minister of National Education, in full discontent of the teachers, had given an interview since his vacation in Ibiza.

During their absence, the ministers will have to communicate their dates, their address and their telephone and electronic contact details “which allow them to be reached in case of necessity”, as well as the names, qualities and contact details of the persons responsible for the permanence at the ministry.

No parliamentary session in September

In addition, work in the chambers of the National Assembly and the Senate will not resume until October 3, a calendar « which is part of the new method of compromise and dialogue desired by the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister “, announced the Minister of Relations with Parliament Franck Riester on Twitter. Thus, there will be no extraordinary session in September, « which has been unprecedented for twenty years », he specified.

This also corresponds to the will of the President of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet (LREM), who wants to be able to work on the texts of the law upstream in order to find consensus with the opposition.

The first bill on the menu for the start of the school year will relate to the extension of the rules of unemployment insurance, which expire on October 31, said Mr. Riester at the conference of presidents of the National Assembly on Tuesday morning, according to a participant.