The last episode of this impressive series will be the most important. Two months after its presentation by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, the pension reform will be put to a vote by parliamentarians on Thursday. First in the Senate this morning, then in the National Assembly this afternoon.
After weeks of fierce debates and high-tension negotiations, the suspense is still high over the outcome of an intense political battle. BFMTV.com takes stock of the programming, hour by hour, of this decisive day.
• 8:15 am: majority meeting at the Élysée
A sign that nothing is at stake, BFMTV learned shortly after midnight that the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron will receive the presidents of the parliamentary groups and the leaders of the majority parties (Renaissance, Horizons, MoDem) at the Elysee.
Yaël Braun-Pivet, president of the National Assembly, will also be present, according to our information. The objective of this meeting is to specify the strategy to “win the vote”, explains one of the participants.
“And this is how the balance and the separation of powers are broken,” lamented Cyrielle Chatelain, president of the EELV group, in reaction.
• 9 am: vote in the Senate, a formality
As of this decisive day, it is undoubtedly the easiest step for the Government: the Senate, with a majority to the right, will vote on the pension reform starting at 9 in the morning. Except for great surprise, the senators will approve the conclusions of the Mixed Mixed Commission, and therefore the bill.
The upper house had already voted widely on the first reading of the text. This Wednesday, the elected Republicans, the majority in the Senate, also felt that the CMP had “listened” to the senators’ proposals. Therefore, in the Luxembourg Palace, only the left should oppose the reform.
• In the morning: Council of Ministers?
After this vote, the executive can always use the constitutional weapon of 49.3 to ensure the approval of the text in the National Assembly. It will be enough for Emmanuel Macron to convene a Council of Ministers before the vote of the deputies. Because there must be a “deliberation” of the members of the government, the Constitution provides.
When asked about the matter, Olivier Véran, government spokesman, indicated that on Wednesday the possibility of using 49.3 had not been mentioned. Emmanuel Macron, according to information from BFMTV, says that he “wants” a vote, favoring the use of 49.3.
But the Elysee also recalls that “all institutional schemes are possible with the will to continue moving the country forward.” Therefore, the suspense remains.
• 12:30 pm: inter-union meeting
However, according to the official agenda of the President of the Republic and the ministers, the time seems tight. Emmanuel Macron attends the closing ceremony of the States General of Diplomacy at the Quai d’Orsay and delivers a speech at 11:00 a.m. Earlier, Elisabeth Borne had breakfast at Matignon with ministers Bruno Le Maire, Christophe Béchu and Gabriel Attal.
At 12:30 p.m., on the opposition side, the unions will try to put pressure on the deputies for the last time before the vote: the leaders of the inter-union concentration in front of the National Assembly. Actions are also planned before the sub-prefectures of various departments.
• 3 pm: vote in the National Assembly
If before 3:00 p.m. and the start of the reading of the conclusions of the Mixed Mixed Commission in the Assembly Hall of the National Assembly no Council of Ministers has been convened, then, without a doubt, the last word will rest with the deputies .
At the Palais Bourbon, a rejection motion will be debated, at the initiative of the LIOT group. If approved, the reform will fall.
If the rejection motion is not approved, the CMP rapporteurs will present the conclusions of their work. Next, a representative from each parliamentary group will speak about the CMP text and explain their group’s position. Finally, MEPs will vote in a public vote.
According to the latest estimates, the vote will be played with only a few votes. The attitude of the Republicans will be decisive.
• And then?
It is possible that in the next few hours a motion of censure from the Nupes will also be presented, 49.3 or not, adoption of the text or not. On BFMTV, Mathilde Panot stated that LFI deputies “will use all means [à leur] provision” against the pension reform. Such a motion, if presented, will not be debated until Saturday.
Once the work of the National Assembly on the pension reform is concluded, the day’s program will come to an end.
However, unions in many sectors are expected to take action against the bill, regardless of the outcome of the vote in the National Assembly. “Thursday, March 16, will be the day of the victory of the social democracy,” the FNME-CGT announced on Wednesday night.
“King Macron wanted the dialogue to break, he will assume the energy break in the country,” warned the National Federation of Mines and Energy.
Source: BFM TV
