Social Security budget: Élisabeth Borne unleashes a new 49.3 after the rejection of motions of censure

Europe 1 with AFP 06:25, October 31, 2023

Élisabeth Borne overcame two more motions of censure in the Assembly on Monday, obtaining the adoption at first reading of the "revenue" part of the Social Security budget, before unleashing a new 49.3 to pass the rest of the text without a vote. The Insoumises retaliated unsurprisingly with the announcement of a new motion in the face of this fifteenth appeal by the Prime Minister to the decried constitutional weapon, "the logical conclusion of a minority government tasked with brutalizing the people," according to their leader Mathilde Panot. The RN group could do the same.

Government accused of 'trivialising' 49.3

A rejection of this or these motions, which could be examined on Thursday at the earliest, would this time lead to the adoption of the entire 2024 Social Security budget (PLFSS) at first reading in the National Assembly, paving the way for its transmission to the Senate.

Accused by the oppositions of "trivialising" the 49.3 in defiance of the parliamentary debate, the Prime Minister referred them to their "refusal to find points of agreement". "The same causes always produce the same effects," she said in the hemicycle, where she came shortly before midnight to commit her responsibility for the "expenditure" aspect and the whole of the PLFSS. "I am acting in the interest of the country and I am taking my responsibilities," she said earlier, defending a budget that provides for "a further increase in resources" while "guaranteeing the financial sustainability of our model".

Three consensual articles adopted

On the contrary, all the oppositions have reproached him for underfunding the health system, and in particular the hospital, in this PLFSS which is counting on a Social Security deficit of 11.2 billion euros in 2024.

The motions of censure of the left (LFI, communists and ecologists) and the RN, examined at the end of the afternoon, obtained respectively only 223 and 88 votes out of 289 required to bring down the government. They were replying to the previous 49.3 on the "revenues" of the PLFSS. As the Republicans (LR) ruled out bringing down the government on a budget, they had no more chance of succeeding than those postponed nearly ten days ago on the state budget.

The Assembly "doesn't want your budget," said LFI MP Hadrien Clouet. "Whether it's out of lack of interest, lack of seriousness or because you're a when it comes to welfare, you have to go." RN MP Pierre Meurin, for his part, denounced a "medical third-worldisation" of the country.

Before the new 49.3 was cut at the end of their evening sitting, MEPs were able to examine some provisions of the "expenditure" part. They adopted three consensual articles. For the roll-out of the HPV vaccination campaign in schools, free condoms in pharmacies for those under 26 years of age, as well as the reimbursement of reusable period products for women under 26 years of age.

Suspense over franchises

But this part of the Social Security budget includes controversial cost-saving measures, such as the possibility of suspending the daily allowances of an insured person when a doctor mandated by his employer deems his work stoppage unjustified. Or the reduction of reimbursement in the event of refusal of shared medical transport.

Another measure crystallized the reproaches of the oppositions, without even appearing in this PLFSS: the possible doubling of the remaining out-of-pocket costs of the insured for medicines (currently 50 cents per box) and consultations (1 euro). Questioned on both the left and the right, Public Accounts Minister Thomas Cazenave confirmed last week that this increase was "envisaged". However, he did not guarantee that it would be implemented, recalling that other avenues for savings existed. And that an increase in deductibles did not fall under the PLFSS, but in the "regulatory field".

There is also uncertainty about another explosive measure: the possible contribution of Agirc-Arrco, the private sector's supplementary pension fund. Admittedly, the government has given up "at this stage" on taking money from this system managed by the unions and the employers. But without ruling out the possibility of returning to it during the rest of the budget debates. "I prefer to let the social partners find solutions, rather than constrain the resources of Agirc-Arrco," Borne said on Monday.

The use of 49.3 allows the government to incorporate the amendments of its choice into the text for which it is responsible. "In total, we are going to take up 250 amendments: 100 more than last year!" said the Prime Minister.