The Senate dominated by the right-wing opposition is preparing to vote without conviction, Tuesday, November 16 in first reading, the draft budget of the Social Security for 2022, with as a major modification a measure of retirement age, on which the members can come back.
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“This Social Security financing bill avoids the big issues. He is only the seismograph of the effects of the economic situation on the social accounts, without any major decision or future perspective
,
”
ruled LR president of the Social Affairs Commission Catherine Deroche. Weighing more than 500 billion euros, this budget anticipates at this stage a deficit of 20.4 billion euros for the general scheme in 2022, taking into account an improvement in growth for 2021. Some five billion remaining provisioned to make facing the aftermath of the Covid-19 crisis.
At the end of a week of debate, Secretary of State Adrien Taquet welcomed the fact that the upper assembly had kept
"great advances"
, such as the minimum remuneration of 22 euros for home services, the reimbursement of contraception. for women under 26 or reimbursement for psychological consultations.
The Senate also gave the green light to the extension of the salary increases granted during the Health Segur to some 20,000 additional caregivers, employees of establishments for disabled people funded by the departments.
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But the major criticism of the senatorial majority on this last five-year Social Security budget is financial. The Senate thus largely rejected the multi-year financial trajectory
"which fatalistically presents a
deficit
" plateau "
of around fifteen billion euros by 2025"
, according to the centrist general rapporteur Elisabeth Doineau. Elizabeth Doineau deplored the absence of
"any strategy for the recovery of social accounts after the crisis"
. The Senate gave the green light to an extension of 1.7 billion euros for health insurance in 2021, proposed by the government in the hemicycle, in particular for the hospital. But he did not vote for the increase of 500 million euros for 2022. The senators were still opposed to the device of taking over the hospital debt, considering that the financing of the investment plan for the hospital should be carried by the general state budget.
The extension of the retirement age is the major provision, and the most political, proposed by the senatorial right. Emmanuel Macron
"is the only president for 30 years to have done nothing"
, tackled the boss of senators LR Bruno Retailleau.
"The conditions are not met"
to relaunch the work of pension reform, estimated the President of the Republic last week.
"We are doing it"
, launched the rapporteur LR René-Paul Savary (LR). The senatorial majority prides itself on taking
“its responsibilities”
by proposing a progressive postponement of the legal retirement age from 62 to 64, from the 1966 generation, and a convergence of special schemes before 2032.
The senators still wanted to put more contribution to mutuals.
Read alsoA 2022 Social Security budget with very little ... savings
On the left, the CRCE groups with a communist and environmentalist majority immediately announced the colors: they will vote against the draft budget, regretting that it does not call for new revenue.
"We can not vote a budget that does not prepare for the future"
, also ruled for the PS Bernard Jomier, regretting in particular that the autonomy branch
"remains meaningless"
.
Once the modified draft budget has been voted on by the High Assembly, deputies and senators will try to agree on a common version of the text in a joint committee.
In the event of probable failure, the National Assembly will have the last word.
