Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne once again triggered article 49.3 of the Constitution in the National Assembly on Friday, this time to obtain the final adoption without a vote of the draft Social Security budget. Following a choreography that has become usual, this 20th use of 49.3, in front of an almost deserted hemicycle, prompted the announcement of a new motion of censure by the LFI group. It will be co-signed by deputies from other left-wing groups, indicated the Insoumis. Its examination is scheduled for Monday morning, and its expected rejection will constitute definitive adoption of the Social Security Financing Bill (PLFSS) for 2024.
“It’s a budget of 640 billion euros for our social model, these are increasing resources for our health, for the autonomy of the elderly and people with disabilities,” argued Elisabeth Borne, in a terse intervention. The leader of the Insoumis deputies, Mathilde Panot, responded on .
The Social Security deficit, now estimated at 8.7 billion for 2023, would reach 10.5 billion for all branches in 2024 (compared to 11.2 billion in the initial text) according to the latest government estimates. The accounts are particularly weighed down by the increase in health insurance expenses. The government plans to contain them at +3.2%, thanks to savings measures relating in particular to spending on medicines, analysis laboratories and even sick leave.
Some sharpen the opposition, like the possibility of suspending an insured person’s benefits when a doctor mandated by the employer judges his work stoppage to be unjustified. Others are more consensual, such as free condoms for those under 26 or even the reimbursement of reusable period protection for women under 26. In the morning, the Senate dominated by the right had unsurprisingly rejected this budget on new reading, noting irreconcilable differences with the government.