Pension reform: Philippe does not rule out the use of 49.3 for the adoption of the text

Text by: RFI Follow

In France, the parliamentary battle over pension reform continues between the majority and the opposition, which has tabled 40,000 amendments. This Tuesday, Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, who wishes to “adopt the reform before the summer” did not rule out recourse to article 49.3 of the Constitution.

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Prime Minister Édouard Philippe left open on Tuesday the possibility of using article 49.3 of the Constitution to have the pension reform project adopted without a vote, of which 70 hours of debate made it impossible to adopt until present as the first of 65 items.

" When it is necessary to take responsibility, I do it without hesitation and I use the whole Constitution, nothing but the Constitution, but indeed the whole Constitution, " argued during topical questions the head of government, according to whom " It is up to the National Assembly itself to bring this debate to life ".

" But from a certain point on, we must be clear : we are committed to this universal system of pay- as-you-go and point-based pensions and the government's commitment, the majority fact, does exist, " he said. added.

The recourse to article 49, paragraph 3 of the Constitution, which requires a green light from the Council of Ministers, allows the Prime Minister to engage his responsibility on a text of law, and to have it thus adopted without a vote of Parliament ( excluding mention of censorship).

► Also listen: Pension reform: "49.3 is a tool that allows you to bypass parliamentary debates"

In the morning, the Prime Minister had already asked LaREM deputies to " hold on " in the face of the " obstruction " from the left of the left on pension reform, while ensuring that if necessary, he would take on his " responsibilities " using 49.3, as reported.

" Our objective " is to " adopt the reform before the summer, " he added, stressing that for this purpose, adoption at first reading is necessary in March in the National Assembly .

The Prime Minister recalled that several of his right-wing predecessors, notably Édouard Balladur and Jean-Pierre Raffarin, had in their time resorted to 49.3.

( With AFP)

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