Paris (AFP)

Still in slow motion, the National Assembly added on Sunday some symbolic objectives to the pension reform, such as the guarantee of a "decent standard of living" for the retired, in a day marked by an incident between Olivier Faure (PS) and the President of the Assembly Richard Ferrand (LREM).

Concord in the morning and discord in the evening. In a rare moment of harmony on this bill, the deputies adopted during the morning a government amendment symbolically fixing an "objective of guaranteeing a satisfactory and dignified standard of living for the retired" in the general principles of the universal system of pensions, the subject of Article 1 which MEPs are still examining.

It was the communist Stéphane Peu who had argued at the outset for the symbolic inclusion of the term "worthy" in these objectives. In a "desire to compromise and speed up our work", Secretary of State Laurent Pietraszewski proposed to combine "satisfactory" and "worthy" in the formulation of the government amendment.

At the end of the afternoon, MEPs took up two amendments voted in committee. The first, of symbolic value, underlines the "solidarity" character of contributions and retirement contributions. The second, supported by the left, insists on taking "productivity gains" into account when steering the pension system.

In the evening, they adopted a final amendment by Thierry Benoît (UDI), still symbolic, to set themselves "an objective of confidence of the young generations in the guarantee of their future pension rights".

Tense moments also marked this seventh day on pensions in the hemicycle.

The most important opposed at the end of the evening the first secretary of the PS Olivier Faure to the president of the National Assembly Richard Ferrand (LREM) about the commission of inquiry requested by the PS on the "sincerity" of the study of impact accompanying the reform.

On several occasions, Olivier Faure took the floor to ask why the Keeper of the Seals Nicole Belloubet had not been seized of this request for a commission of inquiry, until he insisted on asking Richard Ferrand for a copy of the letter sent to Ms. Belloubet.

"Do you think I'm lying to you? All the same, I've told you twice that this damn mail is gone", ended up retorting Richard Ferrand, cutting the microphone of Mr. Faure.

Olivier Faure got carried away outside the microphone and during the session suspension. "Where are we?", "What is that?" Reacted several deputies in the hemicycle to protest against the tone of the socialist leader.

When the proceedings resumed, Mr. Ferrand sent "a copy of the letter of February 18", addressed to Ms. Belloubet. "I consider that the incident is closed. (...) But you must at the very least apologize to the President of the National Assembly for having doubted his honesty".

"Of which record, the incident is closed. Tomorrow we will check with Mrs. Belloubet what are the reasons for which she has not yet responded," reacted Olivier Faure.

During the day, the majority still reproached the rebellious and the Communists for "blocking" the Assembly with their thousands of amendments, "an anti-parliamentary logorrhea", according to the rapporteur Nicolas Turquois (MoDem).

"You want an opposition that does not oppose? (...) Have a good drink, take a good breath, it will get better after", replied Jean-Luc Mélenchon (LFI), criticizing the "authoritarian" temptation , even "totalitarian" LREM, while the communist Fabien Roussel accused the majority of wanting to "shave the Assembly".

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