Pension reform: part of the majority defends the forced passage

The pressure does not fall following the declarations of Emmanuel Macron on his desire to relaunch the pension reform this fall. The hypothesis of a government amendment to the Social Security financing bill (PLFSS) as well as the possible use of 49.3 fuel tensions, to the point of causing trouble within the majority. In order to close ranks, a few Macronie executives have launched the counter-offensive, taking turns to sell the idea – against the evidence – that the method envisaged has nothing to do with force.

If some of his relatives have expressed reservations about the haste of the calendar, the president can thus count on the support of Jean-René Cazeneuve, the general rapporteur for the budget. Pension reform “absolutely imposes itself on us”, judged the deputy Renaissance, during a press briefing before the Association of Economic and Financial Journalists (Ajef), Monday, September 19. This one immediately said « favorable » to the idea of ​​starting the pension reform in the budgetary texts of this autumn, in accordance with the wishes of Emmanuel Macron. So much the worse for those who wish to take the time to democratically debate, not only the government’s plan, but also the counter-proposals, in terms of funding and rights, from the unions but also from the opposition. “There were two years of consultation on the previous pension reform, and the longer the consultation, the more people there were who were against it. Those who tell you to wait sometimes just don’t have the courage. »he declared in a funny confession, via which he brushes aside the » social dialogue « which the Head of State continues to promote.

Raising the retirement age

The same day, on RMC, Olivia Grégoire hammered the same refrain on the need to carry out this project: the reform “is vital for the pension system, but not only. It is also vital for financing the major reforms for social progress that are ahead of us. I am thinking of addiction, old age, health…” And the Minister in charge of Small and Medium Enterprises believes that the method under study could be the right one, contrary to what François Bayrou (Modem), historical ally of the President, denounces. « Do not make people believe that the PLFSS would be a forced passage. Having sat on the finance committee for a long time, we spend a lot of time on the social security financing bill”, she tried to justify. A fallacious argument taken up without flinching by the deputy Renaissance (ex-LR) Eric Woerth: “ There would be no rush, since in reality, the debate on the subject is permanent”said in an interview with Les Échos, the former Sarkozyist Minister of Labour, calling on the government to show « pedagogy » on the subject of pensions. As if the French had not grasped that this reform essentially consisted in bringing back the age of their right to retirement, either by raising the legal age from 62 to 64 or even 65, or by extending the period of contribution necessary to receive a full pension, or both.

The 49-3 weapon envisaged by Macron

The reform is so unpopular that the president did not rule out, before an assembly of journalists last week, using the constitutional weapon of 49-3. This allows the executive to have a text adopted in Parliament without a vote. It also opens the possibility for the opposition to table a motion of censure, which in the event of adoption brings down the government. As a result, according to some macronists, such an appeal would pose no more democratic problem than imposing the reform via the PLFSS. Stéphane Séjourné, newly appointed secretary general of Renaissance, even maintains that the government would take a « form of risk »since it would de facto expose itself to a » motion of censure « , while it does not have an absolute majority in the Assembly. So many positions that say a lot about respect for social negotiation and parliamentary debate that prevails in Macronie.