At the end of life, Michel Barnier put under pressure by Yaël Braun-Pivet and Agnès Pannier-Runacher

POLICY – Above all, do not bury the project. This Saturday, November 2, marked the 17th world day for the right to die with dignity. And while Prime Minister Michel Barnier's commitments on this issue are considered vague, two personalities from the presidential camp spoke to push him to accelerate.

“The right of everyone to die with dignity is a fight that France must continue to wage”wrote on X this Saturday the Minister of Ecological Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher, calling for ” pursue “ the work started at the Assembly before the dissolution decided in June. His request joins that of another Renaissance figure, the president of the National Assembly Yaël Braun-Pivet. “Everyone deserves to decide their end of life, freely and consciously. I remain convinced that it is time for the National Assembly to resume this debate. We are ready, and the French too”she writes.

The commitment of the two leaders to a law governing the end of life is not new. Yaël Braun-Pivet particularly regretted that the dissolution had stopped the examination of the bill on “assisted dying”, according to the term chosen by the Élysée, a short week before the vote. “I hope it will be re-examined in the National Assembly before the end of the year”she pleaded on September 24, three days after the presentation of the Barnier government.

Barnier's hiccup at the end of life

But since his arrival at Matignon, the Prime Minister has only mentioned the end of life twice. The first time, during his general policy declaration on October 1. He then says he wants “restart the dialogue” creating a stir among supporters of the text, anxious to see the legislative process start from scratch. Yaël Braun-Pivet even goes so far as to say “disappointed”.

Forty-eight later, the Prime Minister tries to correct the situation and claims to be “ favorable to returning to work at the time it was interrupted. » Michel Barnier says he is “personally agree” with the text tabled by the former government but it is not “ necessarily » the case for the numerous amendments already adopted under the previous legislature. The Prime Minister indicated that he wanted to resume discussions “at the beginning of 2025”. But since then, there has been radio silence and the subject has never been mentioned by the government spokesperson after the ministers' councils.

Faced with a head of government from the Republicans – a political family cautious on this subject – the messages from Yaël Braun-Pivet and Agnès Pannier-Runacher therefore sound like a little bit of pressure. From the start of the new legislature, the MoDem deputy Olivier Falorni, rapporteur of the bill, tabled a bill incorporating “entirely” the text as it was before the dissolution. “220 deputies » from nine groups signed the text, he indicated at the end of October on X, before urging us to “get back on the path”. A call also shared by the Association for the Right to Die with Dignity. “It is time to resume examination of the text of the law relating to support for the sick and the end of life before, for us too, it is too late! »we can read in a press release dated October 31.

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