Jacques Serais, edited by Laura Laplaud 06h54, March 16, 2023

Will the pension reform be adopted by Parliament on Thursday? A few hours before the vote of senators and then deputies, the mystery remains. The executive, which is not guaranteed a majority, could perhaps draw Article 49.3 of the Constitution.

After more than eight hours of debate, the deputies and senators, meeting in the joint committee on Wednesday, reached an agreement on a common version of the pension reform project. At the end of a final meeting in select committee, the Elysee said Wednesday evening that Emmanuel Macron "wishes" to go to the vote.

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The absolute majority is not guaranteed for the presidential camp

Élisabeth Borne, Olivier Dussopt the Minister of Labour and Franck Riester in charge of Relations with Parliament were gathered around the President at lunchtime. The objective of this meeting was to secure a majority of votes, according to an adviser. But the conclusion of the meeting is quite different: the executive has no certainty, the absolute majority is not assured for the presidential camp.

Will Emmanuel Macron dissolve the National Assembly?

A number of Republican votes remain volatile, between abstention and votes against. This is why Emmanuel Macron has not decided. "The consultations will continue this Thursday," slips one in his entourage. And to put pressure on The Republicans, who hold the key to the election, the threat of dissolution is again evoked, if in case of vote, the against should win.

Emmanuel Macron therefore seems apparently determined to want to play everything for the whole even if the hypothesis of a 49.3 is not at this stage definitively excluded. The latter option would require an emergency cabinet meeting in the coming hours.