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This Saturday, October 19 promises to be intense for the British with a crucial vote in Parliament on the Brexit and a large demonstration to demand a new referendum.
Article regularly updated,
British MPs sit exceptionally this Saturday for an extraordinary session, the first since the Malvinas war, devoted to the vote on Brexit. It may be time for truth in Westminster. Because if the revised agreement of Boris Johnson is approved, the country will indeed leave the EU, either on October 31 or in the weeks that follow. For the main actors of this long saga, the stakes are enormous and they prepare for a showdown without mercy.
► See also: Brexit: Europe suspended at Westminster vote
It all started at 9:30 am (London time, 10:30 am Paris time), recalls our correspondent in London , Muriel Delcroix . Boris Johnson opened the meeting to defend tooth and nail his agreement to the questions of the deputies. The House of Commons will then debate the text and the vote should begin after 14:30.
Boris Johnson tries to weigh all his weight
All opposition parties are up against the new deal, including the Northern Ireland Unionists who believe they have been betrayed by the Prime Minister. Without this crucial support, every voice now counts for Boris Johnson and his team who will try to convince enough Labor MPs in pro-Brexit constituencies, conservative rebels and hard Brexiters to ratify his agreement.
And to show voters that he was doing everything he could against a recalcitrant Parliament, in a televised statement on Friday night, Boris Johnson called on MPs to support him so that the country could move on, describing himself. even Brexit as " a factor of contention ".
An amendment that could change the game
If the agreement is rejected, the Prime Minister will have no choice but to send the same day a letter requesting a postponement of Brexit to the EU. What he agreed to do while saying that the country will still come out October 31 without explaining this contradiction.
If the agreement is approved, it will be the first step in getting the text to become law, and the government will not want to waste time on Brexit on October 31.
There is nevertheless an amendment to watch, presented by the conservative Oliver Letwin who, even if the agreement passes, aims to force Boris Johnson to ask anyway an extension in case in the days to come, deputies Brexiters would seek to do derail the legislative process to precipitate an exit without agreement on October 31st.
British divided
And while the debates will be in full swing to settle the terms of the divorce, an anti-Brexit protest is planned in front of Westminster to push for a second referendum.
On Friday, our special correspondent Béatrice Leveillé went to South Bank, on the south bank of the Thames. There, if tourists and Londoners enjoyed theaters, bookshops and musicians between two showers, the Brexit was in everyone's head. On one side are those who applaud Boris Johnson, like Paul: " I'm glad he managed to get something. I do not know what will happen, so I do not fear anything, "he says.
And on the other, those who will protest against the Brexit, like Mark this Saturday: " This is a tragedy, it is the result of the fact that a large part of the population does not understand our place in the world, he grieves. These people think we have a bigger role than we actually have. They do not realize that this role is amplified as for France because we are members of the European Union. It's not good for us, it's not good for the European Union. It's not good economically. It's catastrophic for the relationships between people. This has increased racism. We are experiencing a kind of drama and I do not know if we can stop it. I think there will be more than a million on the streets of London . "