Prime Minister Michel Barnier on the increasingly slippery stairs of the Elysée.
AFP
The far right is raising more than ever the threat of censorship of the center-right minority government in France. It could come to fruition as early as next week when the Social Security budget will be discussed.
Formed on September 21 after several weeks of political crisis, the French executive is particularly fragile.
France is heavily in debt and the government wants to vote on many highly criticized economies. The governing coalition is also divided on tax increases.
The left and the far right could bring him down together.
Motion of censure possible
A motion of censure could be tabled as early as next week in the event of recourse to article 49.3 of the Constitution – which allows a text to be passed without a vote – on the Social Security budget.
“The French are waiting for clear and firm commitments on (…) the abandonment of the delisting of new medicines and the deindexation of pensions (…) and the Prime Minister is not taking the path,” reacted on the social network
The deputy of his party Jean-Philippe Tanguy does not see “an outstretched hand” by Michel Barnier either, even if the latter said he was ready to do more to “preserve the purchasing power” of the French and announced a mission on proportional representation during elections, another demand of the National Rally (RN).
The country “in the wall”
According to the government spokesperson, the left and the far right, by bringing down the government, “would take the risk of sending the country into the wall” and “will have to assume responsibility for a lasting weakening” of France on an international scale.
“France is at a crossroads. We have the choice today between raising our heads, accepting a recovery budget (…) or sinking into a deficit which will lead us towards a lasting weakening on the economic, social and diplomatic levels of the country”, declared Maud Bregeon on Franceinfo radio.
“Severe turbulence”
The conservative Prime Minister warned on Tuesday of “serious turbulence on the financial markets” if his government fell. “We are already borrowing at very high interest rates, the interest rates that we are obliged to respect to finance our debt with Chinese or American investors,” he added.
The gap between French and German borrowing rates on the markets reached its highest level since 2012 on Tuesday.
And on Wednesday, France’s borrowing rate briefly exceeded that of Greece on the markets, an unprecedented situation which reflects investors’ fears about the French political situation.
“France has room for maneuver, of course, but the symbol is there,” Aurélien Buffault, bond manager of Delubac AM, commented to AFP.
However, “France has one of the best managed debts in the world and which is considered very liquid, which means that it can be bought and sold very quickly, a very positive factor,” he noted. .
(afp)
