THE SFROND did not come from where they expected it.
In the midst of the debate around the pension reform, the leaders of the Macron camp were annoyed by the reservations of certain supporters of Édouard Philippe.
No less than six Horizons deputies – out of 29 – have confided, in recent days, that they do not support the text including a postponement of the legal age to 64 in 2030. Unexpected result: the Philippist troops prove to be the most undisciplined of the three groups of the majority.
A shame for the former Prime Minister, cantor of “
working longer
” – up to 65 or even 67 years old – in the name of “
balance of accounts
”.
Taken aback, his relatives quickly perceived the risk of these sidesteps: eroding the image of a reformer that the president of Horizons is trying to sculpt for 2027.
In a hurry to put out this beginning of the fire, Édouard Philippe tried to close ranks.
Tuesday, in a group meeting, he called on his elected officials to "
consistency
" and "
responsibility
".
Understand: in support of a reform that he sees as a guarantee of "
prosperity
" and "
solidarity
".
The freedom to vote will not be allowed on pensions, warned the leader of the Horizons deputies, Laurent Marcangeli.
“
When we do not vote for a financial text when we say that we are in the majority, that means that we are in the opposition
”, he explained to his elected officials, Tuesday January 24, with reference to the amending budget which contains the reform.
Better consideration of long careers, review clause in 2027… Horizons deputies should defend around forty amendments in the Hemicycle, starting Monday.
But there is no question of “
touching
” the age measurement, insists Laurent Marcangeli.
The warning was not enough to convince all its parliamentarians.
“
We can defend a reform momentum, but also show empathy towards the most fragile French people
”, indicates the deputy Thierry Benoit, from an “
industrial and agricultural
” constituency of Ille-et-Vilaine.
How to understand this reluctance?, wonder the friends of Édouard Philippe.
Seven months after the election of his parliamentarians, the mayor of Le Havre is experiencing the first failures of his strategy in the Assembly.
Some evoke the “
youth
” of his group, others the profile of the deputies.
Many of them, former local elected officials, say they are more bound by their chosen land than by a party line.
“
We are elected officials anchored in our territories.
We have the merit of not letting ourselves be taken in by elements of language
, ”says MP Jean-Charles Larsonneur, who says he is sensitive to the “
significant mobilization
” observed on Tuesday, in his stronghold of Brest (Finistère).
This "slinger" is not a member of Horizons - just like André Villiers, Yannick Favennec and Thierry Benoit, three other hesitants -, we find in the party to try to explain these dissonances.
Still, these elected officials, more "
free
" than "
loyal
", hardly resemble the lieutenants that some relatives of Édouard Philippe imagined to relay his priorities to the Palais Bourbon.
To the chagrin of the former prime minister, the devoted spokesperson for Horizons, Thomas Mesnier, lost his seat on Sunday in a by-election in Charente.
A precious relay less in the Hemicycle.
