The draft constitutional revision on the climate, on which Emmanuel Macron wants a referendum, appears to be deadlocked: the Senate with a right-wing majority adopted on Monday, July 5 at second reading a wording which still excludes the term "
guarantees
" which is held by the 'executive.
The rewritten text was voted by 210 votes to 127 and 5 abstentions.
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The upper assembly has moved on the margins from the first reading. It now proposes the formulation according to which the French Republic "
acts for the preservation of the environment and biological diversity and against climate change, under the conditions provided for by the Environmental Charter of 2004
". The Senate thus substitutes the term “
acts
” for the term “
preserves
”, which it had retained at first reading. But we are still far from the account compared to the last proposal of the National Assembly, according to which the French Republic “
guarantees the preservation of the environment and biological diversity and acts against climate change
”.
The organization of a referendum requires the prior agreement of deputies and senators on the same text, but the two chambers of Parliament have engaged in a semantic standoff. The Keeper of the Seals Eric Dupond-Moretti regretted that the Senate did not seize "
the outstretched hand
" by the deputies. "
You thus close the possibility for the French to express themselves on the subject of primary importance which is the ecological future of our country
", he affirmed.
The deputies had also modified at the margin the initial proposal of the executive which followed the recommendations of the Citizen's Convention on the Climate (CCC). A step in the direction of the Senate for the presidential majority, considered as "
accessory
" by Philippe Bas (LR). The left sent government back to back and the senatorial right. The socialist Eric Kerrouche said his feeling of being "
locked in a time loop
" and blasted "
Pharisees' debates where everyone pretends to seek a compromise in a lying poker game
".
