“It will be the vote of those for or against the reform”: on TF1, Borne anticipates motions of censure
“The account was not there. Invited on the set of TF1, the Prime Minister explained her choice to use 49.3 to force through the pension reform project. As she had done by the National Assembly, Élisabeth Borne justified the situation by the absence of a majority in the National Assembly, and in particular among Les Républicains (LR), and put forward the vote of a motion of censure which will be a vote “for or against the reform”.
The Republicans “wanted to vote for this reform”, “but some within this group wanted to play a personal card, in contradiction with the project” of LR, lamented Élisabeth Borne, admitting that there was no majority for vote on pension reform. “We could not play the future of an essential reform to preserve our pension system” on the “change of position” of deputies, she insisted, “convinced that we must change our pension system” .
The Prime Minister also returned to the hubbub during her speech in the National Assembly, during which she engaged the responsibility of the government and brandished 49.3. “I was very shocked” by the “cries” at the National Assembly, she said. “A number of political groups do not respect our institutions,” she continued.
Gatherings in France
The leader of far-right deputies Marine Le Pen immediately announced the filing of a motion of censure and ruled that the Prime Minister “cannot stay” at Matignon, while Nupes and the LIOT group could also file a motion of censure. The boss of LR, Éric Ciotti, announced that no member of the party will vote “no motion of censure”. “This vote will be that of those who are for or those who are against the reform” of pensions, analyzed Elisabeth Borne.
During an extraordinary Council of Ministers earlier today, Emmanuel Macron justified the use of 49.3 by the “excessive financial risks” that a rejection would have involved. “My political interest and my political will was to go to the vote. Among all of you, I am not the one who is risking his place or his seat, ”he said during an extraordinary Council of Ministers, according to a participant.
After the announcement of 49.3, a few thousand people demonstrated at Place de la Concorde in Paris to protest against the pension reform and the triggering of Article 49.3. Of the spontaneous gatherings also took place in other cities in France, such as Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône), Lyon (Rhône), Grenoble (Isère) or other small towns across the country. The unions are already anticipating new mobilizations in the coming days.
