Édouard Philippe announced before the deputies gathered in session, this Saturday afternoon, that the government was going to use 49-3 to have the pension reform adopted, the debates of which stall for ten days. "I engage the responsibility of the government," pointed out the Prime Minister in the hubbub of the hemicycle, where marks of protest from the ranks of the opposition were blown out.
The decision was officially made during the extraordinary council of ministers which took place on Saturday in reaction to the coronavirus crisis. The executive initially intended to have its text adopted in three weeks. After two, only 10% of the reform had been scrutinized. It therefore seemed impossible to meet the deadline for adoption before the municipal elections.
"Obstruction Strategy"
Before the parliamentarians, the Prime Minister denounced the “strategy of deliberate obstruction on the part of a minority”. "It is clear that the discussion on the merits has never really been able to bind," he said. I regret it, like millions of French people, I expected a lot from this debate ».
Criticizing the “thousands of amendments” and “repeated sitting incidents”, the head of government therefore explained “putting an end to this episode of non-debate”. And touted "one of the most ambitious reforms, and the most complex it is true, in recent years".
The opposition now has 24 hours to table a censure motion. If 10% of the deputies, that is to say 58 parliamentarians, gather, debates will then be organized 24 hours later, which leads to Wednesday or Thursday so that the 49-3 is truly recorded.