French politics is also approaching the holidays, one more week and then it’s done. Time for a first balance sheet. Because something fundamental has changed in the political establishment. The government has not had a majority in the National Assembly since the June elections, with 245 out of 577 MPs. It must approach the opposition, listen to their ideas and forge a new alliance for each law. Long live the compromise! That doesn’t mean that you have to “compromise,” as Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne reassured in her government statement.
Things started badly for her. From the first draft two weeks ago – for a pandemic protection law that should enable normality – the collected opposition shot out a central passage that provided for checking the vaccination status when traveling abroad. The Senate, the upper house, smoothed that out to some extent, but the warning signal had gotten through to President Emmanuel Macron’s camp.
The first big project, the intention to strengthen the purchasing power of the citizens in inflationary times, was all the more willing to negotiate. It made sense to put this at the beginning, because the concern actually unites all parties. There was fierce fighting nonetheless, sometimes until six in the morning.
La France Insoumise (LFI) is running the concrete opposition promised by its boss Jean-Luc Mélenchon. She brought up proposals that were difficult to finance, such as an automatic cost-of-living adjustment, and flatly rejected the legislative package. The Greens went with it, while the Socialists and Communists, in order to appear less obstructive, abstained. The right-wing Rassemblement National, which wants to present itself as a respectable force for the time being, voted in favor of the law but abstained when it came to the accompanying supplementary budget.
So it was only the bourgeois conservative Republicans who finally secured a majority for the government. The “sense of responsibility” won, said Borne. Success comes at a high price, and it will drive up France’s debt ratio of 115 percent of gross domestic product. If the Senate agrees, pensions and various social benefits would rise by four percent. Low earners will receive food allowances, rent increases will be limited, and entrepreneurs can pay employees a tax-free “Macron bonus” of up to 3,000 euros a year. The law would cost 20 billion euros. The broadcasting fee has also been abolished, and the money for public broadcasters is to come from the budget in future, or more precisely: from VAT.
There are arguments about tank discounts and the obligation to wear a tie
The government came a long way to accommodate the Républicains when it came to petrol prices. Instead of allowing the tank discount of 18 cents per liter to expire soon, as planned, it will be increased to 30 cents. The planned relief for frequent professional drivers, on the other hand, will no longer apply.
The debates in the venerable Palais Bourbon have become longer and more tumultuous, there is shouting and ranting like never before. The theatrical potential of the house, which has already been considerable in comparison to the Bundestag, has risen sharply, right up to burlesques such as the call by the Republican Éric Ciotti for the reintroduction of the tie obligation.
This was aimed at the sometimes less formally dressed “Indomitables” of Mélenchon, who had enforced the lighter dress code years ago: “sans-cravate”, a nod to the “sans-culottes” of the Revolution. So the LFI delegates now wear ties, but only the female ones. The increased need for talks and coordination between the government and parliament took up so much time and energy that the parliamentary recess was extended until the beginning of October.
The government initially has plans for the fall that seem like treats for the right-wing parties. A new immigration law is intended to make it easier to deport criminals and make a language test a condition of residence permits. After that, it will probably become more difficult to assert oneself, for example with the law that is intended to advance ecological conversion and promote renewables. Macron has been heavily criticized by the Left and Greens for his “inaction” on climate policy. According to media reports, one of the plans is to use ten percent less energy by 2024.
And French politics is likely to go completely into blockade mode when it comes to the pension reform, which has been postponed several times. Then, as is often rumoured, the moment could come when Macron pulls the plug and calls new elections.