Pensions: government and unions prepare for a decisive day for reform
Police officers intervene during a demonstration by city hall employees against the pension reform, in Paris, on March 14, 2023. © Thomas Samson / AFP
Text by: RFI Follow
6 mins
While a Joint Joint Commission meets on Wednesday March 15 to try to agree on the text of the pension reform, French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne launched an appeal on Tuesday to right-wing deputies, and the unions continued. their strikes and actions, with contrasting situations.
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An eighth day of action is
scheduled for Wednesday at the call of the inter-union
.
If social mobilization
seems to be running out of steam in certain sectors
, it continues in energy and among garbage collectors.
In Paris, the latter voted to continue the strike “
at least until March 20
”: some 6,600 tonnes of waste were not collected in the capital on Tuesday March 14.
Garbage cans were also thrown in front of the headquarters of the presidential Renaissance party in Paris by union activists in order to "
remember that people are on strike, that people are responsible for this situation
", explained to AFP Simon Duteil , joint general delegate of Solidaires.
Punch action in front of the Renaissance headquarters in Paris after the interprofessional gathering.
Many trash cans are thrown away #Greve14mars #Greve15mars
Images @LucAuffret for @LibreQg pic.twitter.com/EgFGKVqlHc
— HQ the free media (@LibreQg) March 14, 2023
Shortly before, French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne appealed
to right-wing deputies
, whose votes are essential for the text, assuring them on Tuesday that a positive vote on their part on her pension reform would not be interpreted as a “support for the government”.
“
You will
[...]
be led to express your views on the pension reform.
Not on support for the government, but on this project, on this project only
", affirmed the Prime Minister before the National Assembly, hammering a dozen times, in an anaphora, that "
a majority exists
" to vote for the text.
"
A majority exists, which is not afraid of reforms, even unpopular ones, when they are necessary
," she added.
Before asking the opposition, in another anaphora,
to “assume
” its attitude when it “
chooses obstruction
”.
The call comes on the
eve of Wednesday's meeting in the Joint Joint Commission (CMP)
, on which the government is counting to build a compromise text.
Seven deputies, seven senators and as many substitutes will then meet behind closed doors to discuss it.
► To listen also
:
Strike of the garbage collectors in Paris: "We need a minimum service", according to an opposition municipal councilor
Despite the probable compromise in CMP, uncertainty in the Assembly
"
If the CMP has a common text, this text will have a majority
" in the Senate and then in the Assembly, estimated the Minister of Labor Olivier Dussopt.
But, even if a compromise is likely within the joint commission, where the macronists and the right are in the majority, the suspense remains immense on
the vote which must follow Thursday
in the Assembly.
This uncertainty raises the possibility that the government will trigger Article 49.3 of the Constitution, which allows adoption without a vote but exposes the executive to a motion of censure.
The President of the National Assembly Yaël Braun-Pivet on Tuesday rejected the request of the Socialists and La France insoumise for an audio and video broadcast of the meeting of the joint commission.
Its debates will therefore be the subject of a written report, but no doubt with a few days' delay.
►Also listen: Guillaume Gontard: "Parliamentarians realize that this pension reform is hard to bear"
MPs "
spectators of something that has already been decided elsewhere
"
In response, LFI should tweet the deliberations of the conclave live, with several of its elected officials giving “
meetings
” on social networks.
Parliamentarians were preparing their weapons and their arguments for the CMP.
Thomas Ménagé, full member for the National Rally group, admits that "
we will be partly spectators of something that has already been decided elsewhere
", between the government and the Republicans, whose voices are essential to pass his reform.
The executive has already conceded to the right a decline in the retirement age to 64, not 65, as well as an increase in small pensions extended to current retirees.
Within the LR group, it is emphasized that the “
only subject
” will be long careers.
Certain concessions on this subject made to the Republicans could disappear from the final text, warned the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire, concerned about the financial “
balance
” of the reform.
Garbage accumulates on an entire street in Paris, amid the garbage collectors' strike against pension reform, in Paris on March 13, 2023. © Bénoît Tessier / Reuters
The opposition is preparing a "
transpartisan censure motion
"
The commission, “
it may be a bit long
”, notes the centrist deputy of the Freedoms, Independence, Overseas and Territories (Liot) group and veteran of the Assembly, Charles de Courson.
Eyes are already on Thursday in the Assembly, where deputies opposed to the reform are preparing a motion for the overall rejection of the text, if it is put to the vote, and a “transpartisan motion of censure” against the
government
. .
The boss of the CFDT Laurent Berger has once again warned against the consequences of a forced passage via 49.3, an option which must previously be authorized by the Council of Ministers.
Slowdown in refineries and transport, strength in energy
The movement seemed to run out of steam in refineries and certain parts of transport.
Most French refineries were still on strike on Tuesday, but strikers were reluctant to shut down sites completely as stocks are almost full.
For several days, the oil unions have been proposing to the refinery strikers to harden the movement against the pension reform by stopping production, but the latter are reluctant to begin these technically delicate and long operations.
Traffic will remain disrupted on Wednesday at the SNCF with in particular 3 out of 5 TGVs and difficulties in Ile-de-France.
The RATP foresees slightly disrupted traffic in the Paris metro and very disrupted in the RER.
However, mobilization
remains quite significant
in the energy sector.
Cuts in production are still on the agenda in the electricity sector, which is still highly mobilized given the crucial issue for electricians and gas operators, who, in addition to the decline in the legal age, fear the abolition of their special pension scheme.
The EDF site listed Tuesday afternoon production cuts in nuclear power plants as well as in thermal power plants.
In hydraulics, the EDF site indicated a “
loss of available power in progress
” of 6,650 MW.
Other punch actions took place, notably in Limoges, where the Enedis head office was completely blocked.
Strikers handle tires during the blockade of a refinery against the pension reform, in Haulchin, near Valenciennes, March 13, 2023. © Pascal Rossignol / Reuters
► To read also: The Council of State had expressed reservations on the pension reform
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