LIVE – Pensions: Macron brings together the leaders of parties and parliamentary groups of the majority

The President of the Republic invites, this Thursday morning, the leaders of parties and the leaders of groups of the presidential camp to the National Assembly, as well as its president Yaël Braun-Pivet, indicated the Elysée, while he is confronted to a dilemma: go to an uncertain vote or engage Article 49.3.

In Paris, the government decided on Wednesday to go into force in the standoff which opposes it to the town hall on the 10th day of strike of the Parisian garbage collectors against the reform of the pensions, by ordering requisitions to empty the trash cans which pile up in the capital.

» The live events of this Thursday, March 16

9:25 a.m. – Kick-off of the final debate in the Senate

The Senate began at 9 a.m. this Thursday the explanations of vote on the compromise text on the pension reform, a text “deeply enriched day after day and over the course of the discussion”, said Minister of Labor Olivier Dussopt. At the end of the explanations of vote, the senators will vote one last time before the much-awaited stage in the afternoon of the National Assembly, which holds the key to the final adoption of the text.

8:48 a.m. – If the text is adopted, “anger and protest will not stop”, promises Laurent Berger

Guest of franceinfo, the boss of the CFDT promises that “if the reform is adopted, the anger and the contestation of this reform will not cease in the individual and collective sense”. “This resentment will continue to exist”, he added, imagining a “suite” but without answering directly on the question of the continuation of the mobilization in the street.

8:26 a.m. – The key points of the final version of the reform

After more than eight hours of debate, the 14 deputies and senators of the Joint Joint Committee (CMP) on pensions ended up reaching an agreement late Wednesday afternoon on a final version of the bill reforming pensions. The postponement of the legal age of departure from 62 to 64 has been confirmed, even if parliamentarians have acted on a “review clause” in 2027, with a parliamentary debate.

On several other points, the copy of the elected officials is significantly different from that given by the government in January. Overview of key changes:

8:07 a.m. – “It’s a good agreement”, judge Bruno Retailleau

“The markers of the reform which we wanted more than anything are now engraved in stone”, greets the president of the LR group in the Senate, Bruno Retailleau, returning to the agreement reached on Wednesday in the joint joint committee (CMP). “It’s a good agreement, we were leaving with an advantage since the only text that had been voted on was that of the Senate”, he adds on Public Senate.

7:54 am – Emmanuel Macron brings together the leaders of the majority at the start of a decisive day

The President of the Republic invited the leaders of his majority this morning for a consultation meeting at the start of a decisive and uncertain day for his pension reform which must be submitted successively to the vote of the Senate and the National Assembly. He invited party leaders and group leaders from the presidential camp to the National Assembly, as well as its president Yaël Braun-Pivet, said the Elysée, when he is faced with a dilemma: go to a vote very tight or engage Article 49.3.

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and the main ministers concerned by the pension reform are also invited to this breakfast, while the presidential camp is trying to assess the number of deputies ready to vote for the reform.

Late Wednesday evening, the head of state made it known that he wanted a vote on this reform, rather than using the procedure of article 49.3, often compared to a passage in force. This allows adoption without a vote but it exposes the government to a motion of censure. “Nothing is decided,” said a source in the executive on Wednesday evening.

7:31 a.m. – In Paris, garbage collectors will be requisitioned by order of the prefect

The Paris police chief announced to Anne Hidalgo on Wednesday evening his intention to requisition municipal agents to pick up the waste accumulating in the streets of the capital.

A measure that the mayor of the capital had refused to do beforehand.

7 a.m. – EDITO – Pensions: the choice of reason

The reform certainly has flaws, but it is nonetheless essential to consolidate the French social system, analyzes Etienne Lefebvre.

Highlights from Wednesday

> What results for the 8th day of mobilization?

Four days after the fall observed last Saturday, the mobilization against the pension reform experienced a slight rebound but no strong jump on Wednesday at the call of the inter-union. A total of 480,000 people marched throughout France, including 37,000 in Paris, according to the police, against 380,000 last weekend. Compared to March 7, the last day of mobilization during the week, the fall is significant. There were 1.28 million protesters across the country that day, according to the Interior Ministry.

The CGT has identified 1.7 million people on the street, against 3.5 million on March 7, or half as many. The decline in mobilization is confirmed.

> How long can the mobilization of SNCF employees last?

Nine days after the start of a renewable strike at the SNCF, the rate of strikers is significantly lower than train cancellations. For the time being, union unity is still holding up, but the organizations must take stock this weekend.

> The hesitation of LR deputies

The Republicans will come out of the sequence on the pension reform a little more divided, without a clear and coherent line in the eyes of the French.