The French president is invoking an article in the constitution that prevents the proposal from being voted on in the National Assembly
French President Emmanuel Macron this Thursday (March 16, 2023) authorized the use of Article 49.3 of the French Constitution to authorize pension reform. The measure allows the government to approve the bill without a prior vote in the National Assembly, which is equivalent to Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies. The information comes from the French newspaper Le Monde.
The announcement was made by French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne at the seat of the legislature shortly after the start of the second round of voting in the House of Representatives. Government opposition parties demonstrated with signs and chants against Macron and Borne.
“We cannot risk that 175 hours of parliamentary debates collapse, that the compromise worked out by two parliaments is annulled,” Borne told the parliamentarians.
Opponents of the measure now have until Friday (March 17) at 3:20 p.m. (11:20 a.m. Brasilia time) to table a motion of no confidence in the executive branch’s decision.
The French pension reform project was presented by the Prime Minister on January 10 and approved by the Council of Ministers 13 days later. The French government aims to have the measure come into force in September 2023 and is aiming to do so Increase age from 62 to 64 gradually until 2030.
ARTICLE 49.3
The constitutional article used by Macron and announced by Borne stipulates that the prime minister “can, after consultation with the Council of Ministers, delegate the responsibility of the government to the National Assembly” to vote on certain texts.
Since the 2008 constitutional revision, the use of the article has been limited to a single bill per parliamentary session, with the exception of bills on finance and social security financing, for which the government can use it without restrictions.
When used, MEPs have 24 hours to submit a “motion of no confidence”. If supported by a majority of MPs, the law will be rejected and the executive order repealed.
However, if no motion is filed or enough signatures are not collected, the bill goes back to the Senate for consideration. It then reverts to the 2nd Assembly vote when the Government is free to use Article 49.3 again.
Since 1958, the constitutional article has been invoked 89 times: 33 times by a rightwing leader and 56 times by a leftwing leader. Former Prime Minister Michel Rocard (19881991) of the Unified Socialist Party (Parti Socialiste Unifié) used the article 28 times, a record among Prime Ministers.
During his tenure, Article 49.3 had no usage restrictions. In 65 years, the opposition responded 47 times with a motion of no confidence, 5 times for Rocard.
The last assignment before Borne was in February 2020 by Prime Minister Edouard Philippe (20172020), also in a pension reform project. Macron was in his first term as President of France. He was reelected in April 2022.
VOTING IN THE SENATE
On Saturday (March 11), the French Senate approved Macron’s proposal in the first ballot by 195 votes to 112, with 37 abstentions. The second round of voting took place on Thursday morning (March 16).
The commission composed of deputies and senators to analyze the project arrived at a version of the text (full, in French 537 KB) that retains one of the most controversial points: changing the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64 for most workers.
However, on other issues such as minimum contribution years and special measures for mothers, members found a middle ground.
PROPOSAL AND STRIKES
According to Macron, “The goal [da reforma] is to strengthen our prepaid pension systems, which would otherwise be at risk as we continue to finance them with loans.” Here is the full text of the proposal in French (966 KB).
Several labor sectors in France went on strike over the proposal from January 19.
According to the country’s Interior Ministry, around 1.1 million people took to the streets across France in the first protests. The CGT estimates that the number of participants in the movement exceeded 2 million. The disruptions mainly affected tourist attractions and transportation.
The acts were recorded in at least 9 cities: Paris, Toulouse, Marseille, Nantes, ClermontFerrand, Montpellier, Tours, Nice and Lyon.
The 2nd day of protest was even bigger. According to the Interior Ministry, around 1.27 million people demonstrated in France on January 31 against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform proposal. The CGT estimated the number of Protestants nationwide at around 2.8 million.