After weeks of mobilization on the street, the pension reform bill arrived at the National Assembly on Monday for consideration. Unsurprisingly, the first session was stormy, announcing long and tense debates, in particular because of the 41,000 amendments tabled by opposition deputies.

This is a new step for pension reform, and it may take time. The examination of the bill in plenary session in the National Assembly began Monday afternoon in an electric atmosphere. After weeks of mobilization in the streets, the battle against this reform becomes parliamentary. And with more than 41,000 amendments tabled by deputies, mainly from the opposition, the fight will be long. Because the deputies opposed to the text intend to use all the tools at their disposal to achieve their ends.

"The fight will be hard, relentless, long lasting"

"If there is an internal regulation, if there is a way of operating for the Assembly, it is legitimate," said Jean-Luc Mélenchon, referring to the 23,000 or so amendments tabled by Insoumis deputies, assuming that is filibustering. "The struggle will be hard, relentless, long-lasting, and we will do everything we can to prevent the passage of this law," said the former presidential candidate. Just before the debates, the Communist deputies even donned t-shirts with the inscription "referendum" in red letters to demand a consultation of the French.

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Communist deputies call for referendum

Their leader André Chassaigne, an "M" on the chest, has also announced that the referendum motion initiated by his group "has gathered a sufficient number of signatures for it to be deposited in the slot which is allocated ", before the start of the evening Monday. To table such a motion, it requires the signature of at least 58 deputies, who must "all be physically present in session at the time of tabling," he recalled last Thursday.

Freshly appointed Minister of Health, it was Olivier Véran who opened the discussions in an electric atmosphere, the latter being cut several times by the opposition when he praised the "immense ambition" of the bill. Elements that suggest that the two weeks of debate initially scheduled may be tight. To remedy this, the president of the National Assembly Richard Ferrand proposed a time of 100 hours spread over three weeks, but the idea was rejected by the rebels, and the communists.