Socialist deputies hope to have several “concrete, everyday” measures adopted on Thursday, during their parliamentary “niche” (AFP / Dimitar DILKOFF)
The PS reaped victories on Thursday in the Assembly, seeing three of its texts adopted on the occasion of its “parliamentary niche”, an opportunity for its deputies to show their “usefulness” and their ability to achieve majorities, often benefiting of the abstention of the Macronists.
The first text aims to combat the high cost of living overseas, the second establishes ratios of caregivers in hospitals, the third intends to generalize one-euro meals in university restaurants for all students.
Emblematically, this third text was adopted with a very large majority, two years after an almost identical initiative had been rejected due to the mobilization of the Macronists.
This time, the latter mostly abstained, despite their reluctance, in a context where the government seeks to cajole the socialists and get them not to censor the government of François Bayrou, on the occasion of the budget review.
This did not prevent the Minister responsible for Higher Education and Research Philippe Baptiste from expressing his disagreement: “I believe in the justice of a system where everyone contributes according to their means,” he said. affirmed, also pointing to a “considerable loss of revenue” for the Crous network, estimated at 50 million euros.
Earlier in the day, the Socialists had passed a text which proposes to gradually establish in hospitals a minimum number of caregivers per patient and per department.
It is a question of responding to the “suffering” of the public hospital, explained the rapporteur Guillaume Garot (PS), stressing that the ratios would only be applied very gradually – this in order to avoid that, due to lack of personnel, hospital services are forced to close, which would be contrary to the desired effect.
Elected officials from the right and the center welcomed a “laudable intention”, but deplored a “false good idea”: “setting minimum thresholds will never respond to the current shortage of caregivers”, estimated Jean Moulliere (Horizons). After trying, in vain, to amend it, they ultimately, for the most part, abstained. The text, voted on in the same terms as in the Senate, can therefore enter into force.
– An elevator return? –
In the morning, the Assembly voted on a first socialist proposal, presented by Béatrice Bellay (PS, Martinique) to fight against the high cost of living overseas. The text allows the State to cap the price of a basket of essential goods – to bring it back to the level observed in mainland France -, attacks monopolies and other oligopolies, as well as the omnipotence of the mass distribution.
Here too, the “common base” deputies preferred to abstain.
The Overseas Minister, Manuel Valls, recognized that price differences of at least 30% between mainland France and overseas posed a “challenge to social cohesion”. But the government, in the name of “freedom of enterprise”, tried to oppose a provision prohibiting large distribution groups from holding more than 25% market share. In vain: the deputies maintained this article.
In the end, Mr. Valls nevertheless “welcomed” the adoption of the text, “a necessary first step”, according to him.
Before their “niche” closed, Thursday evening at midnight, the socialists still hoped to be able to have another of their proposals adopted, aimed at putting in place a system to combat elevator breakdowns. The other proposed texts should not be able to be voted on before the fateful time.
After having given up last week on censoring the Bayrou government – from which they still hope to obtain concessions on the budget – the PS elected officials intend to score points: “we remain in the opposition, obviously, but we are showing our capacity to win votes , to advance files,” a source told the group.
The head of the PS elected officials, Boris Vallaud, made no secret of expecting “on certain texts, support” from the government and elected officials from the center and the right.
As for the elected representatives of the National Rally, they announced their intention to vote “as usual what goes in the right direction, that of the interest of France and the French”. In this case, they approved the text on overseas prices and that on one-euro meals, but abstained on caregiver ratios.
