This is the main problem surrounding the maintenance of government. To escape censure from the Socialist Party, Sébastien Lecornu promised to suspend the pension reform “until the presidential elections” in 2027, on Tuesday, October 14, during his general policy statement.
But although it could have taken the form of a new bill, this suspension will imply “a modification of the Social Security financing bill [PLFSS] from November”, in the words of the Prime Minister on Wednesday, during questions to the government. Unless?
An important development, confirmed by a note from the general secretary of the 2024 government. Without this corrective letter, it would not only be necessary for the government amendment to suspend the pension reform to be approved, but also for the PLFSS in its entirety to be approved in Parliament. And this, before completing 50 days of the exam.
However, if this deadline were to expire without Parliament having made a decision, the government could theoretically pass the bill by ordinance. In this hypothesis, it is the initial project that would be transcribed through the ordinances, minus a possible modification that suspends the pension reform.
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That is to say, with the resignation of Sébastien Lecornu to use 49.3, the path of amendment to the PLFSS would be equivalent, for example, to forcing the socialists, who did not vote on the motions of censure presented by La France insoumise and the National Rally on Thursday, to renounce the suspension, or to accept, on time, the entire Social Security budget despite possible measures that they do not like.
“This means that the Socialist Party will have to vote in favor of a reduction in pensions for four years or a reduction in compensation for people with chronic diseases so that this discrepancy can see the light. How can we allow ourselves to be fooled like this?”, illustrated the national coordinator of LFI and deputy Manuel Bompard in X, after the announcement of Sébastien Lecornu’s legislative vehicle.
Following the message published on Saturday by Benjamin Morel about this “corrective letter”, rebel leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon was satisfied to see “that there is a way to force the government to keep its word.”
Marine Le Pen also reacted, considering that it is “very possible and even necessary” to use this procedure “to guarantee the credibility of the suspension of the pension reform promised to the French.”
“Fundamental difference” but little perspective
Specifically, the “letter of amendment” allows the Government to modify or complete a bill already presented to Parliament, as was done with the PLFSS on October 14, after deliberation in the Council of Ministers.
“It is subject to the same procedure as the bill,” continues Benjamín Morel regarding
With this letter, the “fundamental difference” is that the original PLFSS applied by ordinance would then include the suspension of the pension reform, adds Benjamín Morel. Furthermore, with a prior rectification of the text, the possibility of the government amendment on the suspension of the reform being considered as a legislative rider would no longer arise.
Please note that the 50-day review period for the PLFSS could be reset upon submission of the corrective letter, according to LFI deputy Éric Coquerel in X.
Benjamín Morel, however, tells AFP that “we have no perspective” on such a maneuver, since the application of a budget by ordinance is unprecedented in the Fifth Republic: “We don’t even know if a judge is competent.”
According to him, another hypothesis: although the Government transcribes in the ordinances a modified version of the text through the corrective letter, the one that remains, in the event of a stalemate in the debates in the Assembly, could come from the Senate, whose majority is hostile to a suspension of the pension reform.
Source: BFM TV
