Very long hours to approve a central article of the pension reform. On the night of Wednesday to Thursday, shortly after midnight, by a vote of 201 to 115, the senators approved article 7 of the bill, which delays the retirement age to 64 years. The Republicans, who have the majority in the Senate, voted in favor, the United Left against.
Beginning on Tuesday night after a day of mobilization against the very popular pension reform, the debates around this provision were marked by a series of adventures at the level of the biggest parliamentary battles within the walls of the Luxembourg Palace. .
Parliamentary battle over the amendments
Initially, the senators hoped to pass Article 7 overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday. And, for the first time in the history of the Senate, article 38 of the internal regulations was implemented to expedite the debates, at the request of the president of the LR group Bruno Retailleau. Since then, it has been used several times on Wednesday.
That same night, the rapporteur for the text, René-Paul Savary (LR), presented and voted on an amendment that rewrote a large part of Article 7… to strike down 1,100 left-wing amendments, without modifying the substance of the text.
Strong anger in the communist, environmental and socialist benches, who decided to leave the chamber after seeing their subamendments considered “inadmissible” by the Social Affairs Committee urgently presented. The first round of the parliamentary battle ended Tuesday night at 3:20 a.m., after the vote on René-Paul Savary’s amendment.
Towards a new acceleration of the debates?
The second round was held this Wednesday outside the chamber. At a press conference, left-wing senators gathered to denounce the attitude of the senatorial right, denouncing the “gagging” of the opposition.
Shortly after, the Conference of Presidents of the Senate voted on the possibility of using article 42 of the internal regulations. A new procedure to establish a fixed speaking time for political groups, in case the debates continue on Sunday night.
À la reprise des débatos en fin d’après-midi, il ne restait donc plus que 75 amendements à l’article 7. Before midnight
adjusted time
Despite this vote, the text continues to be unanimously against among unionsto the left and among the French who are massively opposed to it From survey to survey. After two weeks of debate in February, the National Assembly had no did not vote in favor of the reform and stopped at article 2.
However, the Senate’s vote on Article 7 gives parliamentary legitimacy to this reform, which the government desperately needs.
But will the senators be able to reach the end of the text? “I don’t know if we will be able to vote on Sunday night or if the obstruction from the left will prevent it,” Senator LR Roger Karoutchi told BFMTV.
The right wants at all costs to be able to examine the entire bill while the debates must end no later than Sunday, March 12 at midnight to respect the limited deadline set by the government.
There are still a thousand amendments to be considered on Sunday night. The Senate intends to sit every day and every night until then.
Source: BFM TV
