A first storm has passed and the government of Elisabeth Borne is still standing. The Liot group’s “transpartisan” motion of censure, tabled following the triggering of 49.3 to pass the pension reform, did not succeed. With 278 votes He only needed 9 votes to pass. Thirty LRs, or half of the group, would have had to vote for it. However, the right-wing party supported the reform and its leaders said they did not want to “add chaos to chaos” by bringing down the government. Some LR deputies nevertheless voted for censorship, like Aurélien Pradié who wanted to cause “an electric shock”.
“With this reform, we have never gone so far in building a compromise. The government has assumed all its responsibilities. But individual adventures, tactical positions and the fear of unpopularity did not make it possible to ensure a majority”, defended the Prime Minister, before the vote.
“Nothing is over” for the Nupes
But, after the result of the ballot, closer than expected by political observers, the oppositions do not seem to admit defeat. The government is “already dead in the eyes of the French”, declared the leader of the LFI deputies Mathilde Panot. “Nine little voices, nothing is over in this country and we will continue to the end”, she insisted during a joint press briefing with her Nupes partners and while François Ruffin called for “the resignation” of Elisabeth Borne.
The Prime Minister “must leave” or “the president must resign her”, estimated for her part Marine Le Pen, the president of the RN group whose motion of censure collected only 94 votes.
Spontaneous gatherings
Since the outbreak of 49.3 on Thursday, organized or spontaneous gatherings have been taking place throughout the territory, calmly or with overflows. This Monday, actions marked the launch of the baccalaureate specialty tests, even if the Minister of National Education, Pap Ndiaye, considered that there were “no particular points of concern”. In the morning, several demonstrations caused major traffic disruptions in Rennes. And this Monday evening, rallies are underway in Paris, Lille or Toulouse.
While waiting for a new day of action on March 23 at the call of all the unions, the strike has hardened in the refineries and the garbage collectors are continuing their movement in Paris, Rennes or Nantes.
The head of government will receive the presidents of majority groups in the Assembly and the Senate in the evening at Matignon, according to concordant sources, Emmanuel Macron asked on Sunday that the reform “can go to the end of its democratic journey with respect of all “. The Liot group has already planned to seize the Constitutional Council.