Paris (AFP)

Vertiginous deficits, further worsened under consideration: Parliament must validate Monday the 2021 budget for Social Security transformed into a financial pit by the health crisis and its economic impact.

In the absence of agreement with the Senate dominated by the right-wing opposition, the text comes in the afternoon one last time before the deputies, whose vote will mark the final adoption at the end of six weeks of shuttle between the two chambers .

"Historical deficits", "drunken boat", "we are in front of the unknown": deputies and senators did not hesitate to comment on the abysmal figures of this unprecedented financing bill (PLFSS).

The Minister of Health Olivier Véran had prepared them for this from the start of the debates: "we are on the north face of Everest in the middle of winter, the visibility is really bad".

Against a backdrop of curfews and re-containment, the figures are reviewed several times during the sessions: the deficit for 2020 goes from 46.6 to 49 billion euros.

The forecasts for 2021 are also bad, with a deficit revised last week to 35.8 billion euros, against 28 billion initially.

Covid obliges, the accounts are torn between less cash inflows due to the economic crisis, and exploding expenses for overheating hospitals, tests, salaries of caregivers etc.

And now the vaccination campaign looming.

Olivier Véran announced in October an extension for this year of 2.4 billion euros to create 4,000 hospital beds "on demand", and advance the salary increases for caregivers planned by the "Ségur de la Santé".

A month later, his colleague in charge of Public Accounts, Olivier Dussopt, increased the deficit forecast for 2021 by 7.8 billion.

- "Short term" -

The majority welcome the desire to take up the "historic challenge" of the Covid-19 pandemic.

On the right, on the other hand, we are alarmed at having to work on figures "already underestimated", without knowing when and how the deficits will be filled.

The left denounces for its part a budget "which provides only a short-term response to the crisis", in particular that of the hospital.

Contrasting with these difficult prospects, this budget offers a widely welcomed progress, by doubling the duration of paternity leave, from 14 to 28 days.

All political and union sides applauded the measure, announced by Emmanuel Macron in September and long awaited in the associative world as well.

The employers welcomed this "evolution" but regretted that it occurred when companies are already weakened by the health crisis.

They are often called the "forgotten" of the crisis: the government has voted 200 million euros to revalue the salaries of home helpers, who work with the elderly and the disabled.

The text also confirms the creation of a new branch of social security, dedicated to dependency.

But if the framework is set, funding still remains largely to be found.

Another notable measure, people going to the emergency room without being hospitalized will have to pay a "package" of 18 euros, replacing the current "co-payment".

The left has strong reservations.

Small bomb in the Senate: the parliamentarians had voted for an extension of the working hours - which was to postpone the legal retirement age from 62 to 63 years - to redress the social accounts.

But this vote caused a stir even within the right, and the reform was deemed "premature" by the government.

The Assembly did not keep it.

The two chambers came together to offer a small victory to the world of viticulture.

Standing up to the government, deputies and senators have imposed a reduction in employers' charges in order to help this sector very affected by the crisis.

© 2020 AFP