The National Assembly has in the night of Tuesday to Wednesday the non-compensation by the State to Social Security measures decided last December during the crisis of "yellow vests", despite a common front oppositions very raised against a such "siphoning".
At the end of a long debate in a tense atmosphere, MEPs endorsed Article 3 of the draft Safeguards Budget for 2020, which ratifies this non-compensation, by 89 votes to 42. The deficit of Social Security is expected to 5.4 billion euros in 2019 and 5.1 billion next year, a deterioration partly due to overly optimistic forecasts including growth, but also related to the "emergency measures" adopted in December. Contrary to the principle laid down by the Veil Act of 1994, these measures will not be compensated.
In committee last week, the deputies voted to return to the principle of compensation, on the initiative of opposition politicians but also some members of the majority. Opposition from right and left, deploring a debate of such importance at late hours, tried in vain to repeat the vote in the Chamber, but their amendments were rejected by 93 votes to 51.