the executive ready to abandon a reform by amendments?

The Elysée announced, Saturday, September 24, the holding of a meeting next week to take stock of the pension reform. It will bring together Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne, the ministers concerned and the majority executives, and will focus « on the challenges and the need for this reform »said the presidential entourage to Agence France-Presse.

The President of the Republic estimated, on September 12 in front of journalists, that this reform could not wait any longer and that he wanted it to come into force in the summer of 2023. But the government still has to decide on the method. Two options are on the table: go through a dedicated bill which would be examined at the start of winter, or go through amendments during the examination of the Social Security finance bill, which will begin in National Assembly on October 20.

Age measures, minimum pension, arduousness… the government’s avenues for reforming pensions

But the government could abandon the track of a reform by amendments, without even waiting for the meeting convened by the Élysée. According to a persistent rumor in the ranks of the majority, Elisabeth Borne could announce this abandonment as early as Monday, September 26, during her appearance on the radio morning. RMC.

The track of a reform by a simple amendment, faster and favored by the warmest supporters of the reform, indeed provokes an outcry, in the opposition and among the unions, who threaten to mobilize massively if necessary, but also in the majority, where figures of weight have expressed their reluctance.

The executive under the pressure of an internal dispute

François Bayrou first, who said he was opposed to a « forced passage » which risks, according to him, to unite the oppositions between them, then to divide French society”. The leader of the MoDem deputies, Jean-Paul Mattei, drove the point home on Tuesday, September 20, saying that his group’s position would be » definitely vote against this amendment”.

Thursday, September 22, the President of the Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, in turn undermined this option. Attached to the independence of Parliament vis-à-vis the executive, the Renaissance deputy estimated on France info that « The government’s amendments must not in themselves bring about a substantial reform » and that it was necessary “take the time to consult”.

Pensions, the risks of a forced march reform

Statements that could seal the fate of a reform by amendment. « Bayrou and the President of the National Assembly, that weighs in the balance », summarizes a source at the Palais-Bourbon. Their opposition constitutes a major obstacle for the government: the majority relative to the National Assembly does not allow it to do without its allies, nor to have a group divided on an already unpopular reform, but of which Emmanuel Macron made the stone corner of his five-year term.