France

Pensions : 49.3 and motion of censure!

- 8:41 am
Elisabeth Borne at the Assembly (capture BFMTV) Elisabeth Borne at the Assembly (capture BFMTV)

Elisabeth Borne at the Assembly (capture BFMTV) Elisabeth Borne at the Assembly (capture BFMTV)

Big heckling in the Assembly. The Prime Minister, who had been booed, committed the responsibility of her government. If the motion of censure is passed, the government will be overthrown. The union mobilization continues. The revolt rumbles on.

The suspense lasted until the end. Was Elisabeth Borne’s government going to take the risk of rejecting the text drawn up the day before by the Joint Commission (CMP) on pension reform? Or, not being assured of a favorable vote, would the executive “draw” the famous article 49.3 to force its way through?

“Borne cannot stay” (Marine Le Pen)

Finally, only twenty minutes before the start of the session at the National Assembly, this Thursday, March 16, 2023, we learned that President Macron had opted to use Article 49.3 of the Constitution, which allows the law to be passed without further debate and without a vote.
As soon as she entered the hemicycle, this Thursday at 3 pm, Elisabeth Borne was booed and even booed by the deputies of France Insoumise who displayed signs “64 years is no”. They sang the Marseillaise in an indescribable hubbub to prevent the Prime Minister from speaking. After a quick recess, she was able to take the floor to announce that she was using the 49.3 and engaging the responsibility of her government. In fact, the different groups of deputies could then table a motion of censure which will be debated and voted on Monday 20 March.
In the wake of this stormy session, Marine Le Pen announced that she would table a motion of censure against the government because, she said, “Elisabeth Borne cannot stay. Same thing on the other side of the hemicycle where the Nupes announced the filing of a motion of censure.

A wind of revolt

Whatever the fate of these motions of censure, the anger of the French people and of the unions has risen to a new level. Laurent Berger, leader of the CFDT, is already talking about new days of mobilization. The strikes in progress, in public transport, in refineries, among garbage collectors, will harden.
But above all, spontaneous demonstrations and blockades, which have appeared in Paris and in several provincial cities, testify to a stinging failure and a definitive rejection of Emmanuel Macron’s policies since his re-election a year ago. The French, in their majority, did not want the pension reform. They no longer want the President of the Republic.

 

 

 

France,