Posted Apr 14, 2023, 7:38 PMUpdated on Apr 14, 2023 at 10:08 PM
End of suspense. The Constitutional Council decided by deliberations which lasted from 9 a.m. this Friday to 4 p.m. without interruption and in a totally bunkered building. The decisions he made public this Friday at the end of the afternoon are, for Emmanuel Macron and Elisabeth Borne, the scenario that was hoped for.
The nine Elders announced that they had rejected the request for a shared initiative referendum (RIP) submitted by the left-wing parliamentarians because they judged that the bill proposed by this RIP did not constitute, contrary to what is provided for in article 11 of the Constitution, a reform. It is a sword of Damocles which weighed on the reform and which is, with this first decision, lifted.
New decision on May 3 on the RIP
This does not mean, far from it, that all the stones in the shoe of the executive with regard to a possible RIP have been removed since the same parliamentarians seized the Constitutional Council on Thursday of a new request for RIP with a bill which this time, pledged the expenses that would result from not pushing back the legal retirement age beyond 62 years. The Constitutional Council has indicated that it will give its decision on this RIP on May 3. But the question of whether this bill constitutes a reform will be raised again.
With regard to the pension reform itself, the Elders validated most of it, apart from six “social riders”, that is to say measures which have no place in a budget text such as the is the pension reform bill.
This was the scenario the government was hoping for. Even if these censorships, removing from the text part of these so-called “sweet” elements, risk making it even more unacceptable to these many opponents. But the executive is betting on the fact that they will also push the social partners to resume language to work on the employment of seniors, the end of their careers, the arduousness.
Unsurprisingly, the Constitutional Council has indeed censored the senior index, the senior contract, certain provisions of article 10 on the conditions for opening the right to early departure for civil servants or even part of article 17 ( medical visits) for employees exposed to certain occupational risk factors.
“The Constitutional Council has judged, both in substance and in form, the reform in accordance with our Constitution. The text is coming to the end of its democratic process, ”welcomed Elisabeth Borne in a tweet. “Tonight, there is neither winner nor loser”, also estimated the one who, a week ago, explained that it was not necessary to “humiliate” the unions and take into account the very strong opposition in the country to reform.
In a press release, Matignon also indicated that he wanted to “continue consultation with the social partners to give more meaning to work, improve working conditions and achieve full employment. The Minister of Labour, Olivier Dussopt, immediately indicated that the employment of seniors “remains a priority”.
Not the end of the fight
But this resumption of dialogue and work to complete the reform and move towards other reforms is likely to be difficult. Politically, apart from the Les Républicains party, all the opposition parties have assured that these decisions do not constitute the end of the fight against the pension reform.
Side trade unions, the page is also far, for the moment, to be turned. Emmanuel Macron, who wants, at all costs, to try to move on and not let the situation get bogged down even more, said on Friday afternoon, even before the decision of the Elders, that he had invited the organizations unions and employers on Tuesday at the Elysée. “This will necessarily be the start of a cycle that the president and the government will continue in the coming weeks,” the statement said, as if to try to cut short the prosecution of the protest.
No meeting at the Elysée before May 1
The inter-union, in a press release, took note of the decisions. But she also assured that she would not go to any meeting at the Elysée before May 1, the next date of mobilization. And she asked the Head of State not to promulgate the law, when the latter has fifteen days to do so.
In its press release, the Elysée also indicated that “the door will remain open, without preconditions, for this dialogue”. In short, the Head of State wants to speak again but the “without precondition” suggests that he refuses that this meeting takes place on the condition that he does not apply the law, withdraws it or resubmits it to Parliament. – under article 10 of the Constitution – the text validated by the Constitutional Council.
Enact the law quickly
Within the executive, the idea was rather to enact the law quickly, probably this weekend. The referral to the Constitutional Council for a new RIP does not prevent its promulgation.
Earlier in the day on Friday, the Head of State had also, while visiting the Notre-Dame site, dropped: “It is when you set a course with an ambition that you can move. […] “Staying the course is my motto. Difficult, not to see a message about his determination to go through with this reform and to want to move forward towards other projects.
Saying where he wants to go and how is undoubtedly one of the messages he will want to send to the French during an intervention which could take place at the beginning of next week.
On the move Friday morning in Eure-et-Loir, the Prime Minister had assured “measure the anger”, but also said that her priority is “to appease and respond to the very concrete concerns of the French”. She took the opportunity to announce the revaluation of the minimum wage by just over 2% on May 1.
However, it is difficult to imagine a very rapid appeasement. The executive also feared, at the end of a day dotted with spontaneous demonstrations against the pension reform, more radical actions after these decisions. The decision of the Constitutional Council was greeted by boos on the forecourt of the Hôtel de Ville in Paris, where several thousand people were gathered.