Paris (AFP)

Let's go for a long marathon with an uncertain outcome: the pension battle started on Monday in the Assembly in an already electric atmosphere, the government touting "immense ambition" in the face of an opposition that intends to torpedo a deemed reform " unjust "with a cloud of amendments.

The brand new Minister of Health Olivier Véran defended a project announced "for a long time" which "has the legitimacy of a presidential program", at the opening of the debates on this highly sensitive reform, wanted by Emmanuel Macron and which aims to create a "universal pension system" by points.

So far rapporteur for the organic part of the reform, the "walker" has just succeeded Agnès Buzyn who took over, in the LREM race at the town hall of Paris, from Benjamin Griveaux swept away on Friday by a case of sex videos .

His speech, preceding that of Secretary of State Laurent Pietraszewski, was quickly interrupted by cries of the opposition. "Please do not start, you will have hours, days and nights to snap into democracy," said Richard Ferrand (LREM) from the roost.

After weeks of protesting the reform on the street, the call for a "dead day" in transportation was little followed on Monday. Several hundred people also took part in a "symbolic" demonstration towards the Assembly, awaiting a new interprofessional day on Thursday.

For the time being, fifteen days of debate are scheduled, or 84 hours. Faced with a calendar deemed "untenable", Richard Ferrand proposed just before the start of the debates a "scheduled time" of 100 hours of debate over three weeks. He was opposed to dismissing LFI and PCF deputies.

Faced with the obstruction of the left of the left, with its amendments, the leaders of the majority hammered that recourse to 49-3 - the weapon of the Constitution which allows adoption without a vote - "is not the objective ", but" walkers "do not exclude it if the debate is" clearly impossible ".

"Totally unthinkable", however warned LR. It would even be "delirium" for the number one CFDT Laurent Berger.

The government is still counting on an adoption at first reading before the municipal elections in a month and hopes for a final green light "by the summer" on both texts (ordinary and organic).

- "Relentless fight" -

Right and left denounce a "contempt" of the Parliament and a "nebulous" and "with holes" project, with in particular the thirty or so ordinances programmed.

The three left groups - PS, PCF and LFI - who denounce a "guilty amateurism" of the government, also count on amendments (almost 37,000 among them three) on a referendum motion on Monday, then a motion of censure on a date which remains to be determined, steps which will slow down the debates.

The boss of the rebels Jean-Luc Mélenchon promised Monday "a very big parliamentary battle". "The fight will be hard, relentless, long lasting" he insisted, denouncing "chaos, confusion and rape of people's rights" by the government.

The Communist deputies, who deem the reform "much worse" than what had been announced, will not be outdone, like the PS, convinced that "a certain number of fellow citizens are going to be tricked".

As for LR, which intends to embody "a third way", the group castigates like the left "the unpreparedness" of the government and believes that for funding, "we are walking on our heads".

The vote on the reform is scheduled before the conclusions of the financing conference, which begins its work on Tuesday and is expected to find by April measures to achieve balance in 2027.

On the majority side, we show the will to bring this reform of "social progress" to fruition, "against winds of obstruction and tides of amendments".

If the group supports the reform overall, questions have emerged about its budgetary impact, and some on the left wing intend to make their voices heard on subjects such as arduousness. A "walker" predicts "an exercise in strong collective discipline".

© 2020 AFP