“I called my group on Friday and got the green light to stay in Toulouse. » Monique Iborra, the deputy for the 6th constituency of Haute-Garonne, is one of the five Renaissance deputies who did not vote Monday evening on the motion to reject the immigration law. In an unprecedented unison of the oppositions, it was adopted by 270 against 265. Five “small” votes missing and three small votes difference precisely to have the absolute majority, inflicting a snub on the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin.
Note that nine votes from the majority were missing, due to absent deputies (five Renaissance, but also three Democrats, one Horizons). And in the case of Monique Iborra, she could, if necessary, have her apology signed by the President of the Republic in person. The MP was in fact late Monday afternoon alongside Emmanuel Macron, visiting the Pink City to make announcements on the France 2030 investment plan. On the green plane, particularly in the cradle of Airbus, flagship company in the parliamentarian’s constituency. Monique Iborra knew that Élisabeth Borne had forbidden her ministers to travel, precisely so that the deputies would not stay in their constituencies to welcome them. “But here, it was the President of the Republic and I did not want him to be received only by local socialist elected officials,” she explains.
Administrative failure, trips to China or Italy
Naturally, in hindsight, the MP regrets. “Even if we knew that the vote would be close, frankly,” she confides, “we did not sufficiently anticipate this scandalous alliance of extremes to fight, me first, because if I had anticipated it, it is obvious that I would not have stayed in Toulouse,” confides the MP.
Michel Lauzzana, deputy for Lot-et-Garonne, also says he is “sorry” to appear on the list. He had a “special appointment in the constituency”. A medical appointment in fact. He had anticipated, even sent a medical certificate on Friday to the administrative services of the Assembly to obtain “vote by delegation”. “But there was a failure, my request was not taken into account,” he laments.
As for Jean-Philippe Ardouin, deputy for the 3rd constituency of Charente-Maritime, he was on a business trip to Italy, from which he did not return until too late on Monday evening. It indicates in the columns of the daily South West having notified of his absence on Thursday, December 7.
The other two absent are two deputies from French people abroad who were thousands of kilometers from the Palais Bourbon. Amélia Lakrafi, whose constituency extends over part of the Middle East and Africa, was according to BFMTV again on Sunday evening in Saudi Arabia for a “Franco-Saudi business council”. Finally Anne Genetet, whose parliamentary attaché tells us that her “constituency includes 49 countries in Asia, Oceania and Eastern Europe”, she was traveling in China.