France: deconfinement plan validated by deputies despite criticism

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The government's deconfinement plan, which provides for several phases and a differentiation according to the territories, was validated Tuesday in the National Assembly during an advisory vote organized despite criticism from the opposition on the method adopted by the executive.

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Unsurprisingly, the presidential party being the majority at Palais-Bourbon, the plan was approved by 368 deputies - 100 voted against - after more than five hours of debate. The continuation of this vote, in the wake of Prime Minister Edouard Philippe's declaration, had been the subject of sharp criticism for the past 48 hours, the opposition seeing it as “  a denial of democracy  ” and demanding a delay before pronouncing - repeated attacks on Tuesday in the hemicycle.

The leader of deputies Les Républicains, Damien Abad thus denounced the “  stubbornness  ” of the Prime Minister to refuse to the opposition a period of 24 hours before the vote - a subject causing a disagreement between Edouard Philippe and Emmanuel Macron according to some media, disagreement denied by Matignon.

"  I admit that I do not fully understand this excess of rigidity, especially since it is not shared by the President of the Republic or by part of your own majority,  " said Damien Abad, deeming "  curious that the President of the Republic calls for national unity and that at the same time, the Prime Minister sits on Parliament and
democracy  ”.

The first secretary of the Socialist Party, Olivier Faure, for his part deplored an insufficiently prepared plan. "  Courage is not forced march, courage is to make the right choices at the right time,  " he said.

"  We do not share your diagnoses, nor the system of actions you have chosen,  " said the president of the rebellious La France group, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who had denounced the denial of democracy in recent days. 'executive.

► Read also: Coronavirus: what to remember from the deconfinement plan presented by Edouard Philippe

Beyond the question of the deadline, that concerning the StopCovid digital application project had stirred the opposition, but also a part of the majority. The announcement by Matignon on Saturday not to organize a specific vote on this application as initially planned made some members of La République en Marche (LaRem) cringe.

Edouard Philippe finally backtracked on Tuesday, deeming it “  premature  ” to hold a debate on StopCovid given the “ uncertainties ” concerning the implementation of this project, but promising a “  specific debate followed by a specific vote  ” as soon as the application works.

Here we are, after a calamitous management, to a hazardous exit. Orders and counter-orders succeeded each other, so much so that the fundamental spring of the struggle was broken: trust.

Debate and vote in the National Assembly on the deconfinement plan

Anne Soetemondt

(with Reuters)

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