In the Assembly, will France Insoumise bet everything on pension reform, to the detriment of other texts?

POLICY – Is it more profitable to hit the jackpot all at once or to accumulate small winnings? This is the dilemma facing France Insoumise this Thursday, November 28 as part of its day reserved for the National Assembly. In the pipeline, several legislative proposals including that to repeal the pension reform and which may well take up all the space.

For this day when the Assembly's agenda is reserved for them, the rebellious deputies have planned eight texts: establishment of maximum remuneration in companies, recognition of the arduousness of “feminized professions”, blocking of job prices. energy or yet another to change the definition of rape in the law.

This latest bill was not initially planned. The group announced its addition at the end of October, on the sidelines of the Mazan rape trial which shone the spotlight on this possible legislative flaw. Accelerating on this issue allowed rebellious France to put pressure on the government, while the Minister of Justice and then Michel Barnier said they were open to a possible evolution.

A similar strategy had already been applied under the previous legislature for the constitutionalization of abortion. But success is not guaranteed this time. Starting because the text, although placed in second position in the niche, has little chance of being studied.

Repeal the reform, “a very, very powerful political signal”

The first proposal on the agenda concerns the repeal of the pension reform. The text was approved in committee, which makes the rebels optimistic about the outcome in the hemicycle. Problem: the presidential camp is determined to block the examination, with the help of some 900 amendments – far-fetched for many – tabled by the group of Gabriel Attal and allies. Thus, they will be able to drag out the debates until the fateful hour of midnight and thus prevent the vote… and the examination of all the other legislative proposals, possibly more consensual, planned afterwards.

“By doing this obstruction, they are preventing us from discussing, for example, the regulated electricity prices that we had won in commission”denounced the leader during the group's press conference on November 26. The same goes for the definition of rape, although it was rejected in committee in favor of a transpartisan initiative.

To move forward on its other initiatives, could France Insoumise withdraw from its flagship proposal? Politically, the move is complicated. Claiming the scalp of the reform which put thousands of French people on the streets would be a masterstroke for LFI. It is about “show that it is possible to undo Emmanuel Macron’s policy” et “that we cannot govern against the people”deciphers Mathilde Panot on BFMTV Sunday November 24. The member for Val-de-Marne makes no secret of the fact that succeeding in passing this text would be “a very, very powerful political signal”. With the added bonus of a snub to the RN who failed to do the same during his niche.

Mystery strategy

But, if the debates drag on, the bill does not have time to be voted on and the other texts fall by the wayside, LFI also takes the risk of losing everything. Of course, they will always be able to shout at « l’obstruction » from the presidential camp, but compared to an adopted bill, which could then continue its parliamentary path thanks to the senatorial left, the gain is meager.

Behind the scenes, it is time for strategy. “I prefer not to tell you here what we are going to do” immediately warns Mathilde Panot to the press 48 hours from the doghouse. She barely slips in“there is a possibility of removing many amendments in the event of a general rewriting of an article”. On the eve of D-Day, the rebels contacted to discuss the niche had in any case chosen the strategy of radio silence.

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