The battles over pension reform continue. The independent parliamentary group Liot has tabled a bill to repeal it, provoking the ire of the majority. This Wednesday, Elisabeth Borne judged that the approach was "unconstitutional", after a meeting with the unions in Matignon.

"It is quite irresponsible for a parliamentary group to suggest that we can present a bill that removes 18 billion [euros] of resources and that this bill could prosper," said the Prime Minister. "There are rules on the bills that can be presented: (...) it is not to increase expenses and not to reduce revenues," she said.

Prevent the examination of the text, "unacceptable" for the CFDT

"It's somewhere a mirror to larks. Employees are made to believe that they would have a possibility of opportunity, "she said. "This proposed repeal is unconstitutional. I think everyone must be aware of this and that everyone takes their responsibilities accordingly, "added the head of government. The unions, received Tuesday and Wednesday in Matignon, reiterated their support for Liot's proposal, which is to be examined in the National Assembly on June 8, two days after a 14th day of strikes and demonstrations against the pension reform.

Preventing the examination of Liot's text "would be unacceptable", said Tuesday evening the secretary general of the CFDT, Laurent Berger, while Sophie Binet for the CGT judged Wednesday on France Inter that it would be "extremely serious that the deputies are once again prevented from voting on this reform".

Article 40 of the Constitution

The majority groups (Renaissance, MoDem, Horizons) want to use Article 40 of the Constitution which allows the financial inadmissibility of the text to be raised. It stipulates that proposals and amendments of parliamentarians are not admissible if they lead to a decrease in revenue or an increase in public charges. The majority thus asks the chairman of the Finance Committee, Eric Coquerel (LFI), to rule on the admissibility of the text.

The general rapporteur of the budget, Jean-René Cazeneuve (Renaissance), will also be solicited. And "if there is a conflict between them", a meeting of the Bureau of the Assembly, the highest collegiate body, will decide, said the boss of the Renaissance deputies, Aurore Bergé. President Emmanuel Macron had however been open to the debate on the text: on June 8, "for the majority, it will be an opportunity to continue to explain our project," he said Sunday. And "everyone will have to take responsibility and explain how we finance," he said.

  • Pension reform 2023
  • Society
  • Elisabeth Borne
  • Politics
  • Constitution