The deputies largely rejected the finance bill this Tuesday, November 12. Far from being a setback for the Prime Minister, this vote allows the government to give the Senate a hand by sending it a text redacted from the modifications supported by the left.
A clean vote. MPs largely voted against the revenue side of the state budget this Tuesday, November 12, with 362 votes against. The deputies of the government coalition rejected the finance bill with the votes of the National Rally. The left supported this text which it had largely modified in the hemicycle.
This maneuver will allow the government to return to the Senate with its own copy, even though it has been profoundly rewritten in the chamber. Concretely, Michel Barnier will be able to draw on the proposals voted on in the National Assembly to add them to the initial text that he presented at the beginning of October.
Barnier takes control
Among the measures which will probably disappear, the increase in taxation linked to the assets of billionaires and the increase in taxes on superprofits, all measures voted for by the left which took advantage of the loss of LR and Macronist troops.
Michel Barnier should also take the opportunity to reintroduce several provisions that he had defended, but which were ultimately rejected by his own troops, such as the increase in the tax on electricity, the increase in the penalty automobile and the surtax on large businesses.
Proof that the executive is already seeking to be in the good graces of the Senate with a right-wing majority: Michel Barnier made a gesture towards the senators through the voice of Laurent Wauquiez. The president of the LR deputies announced Monday evening that retirement pensions which should be frozen, will be partially revalued on January 1st. The measure will be introduced into the Senate by an amendment during the study of the Social Security budget.
Negotiations with the upper house
Enough to also satisfy part of his government which has no less than ten former senators, even if it means offending some of the Macronist troops who hardly appreciated the form and substance of the measure.
Laurent Saint-Martin, the Minister of the Budget, announced this Tuesday morning on France 2 that a compromise could “achieve in the very next few days” to limit the reduction in contribution reductions for businesses, an important symbol for macronists.
But the government, which initially thought it was playing on velvet in the Senate, will also have to smooth out the angles. The senators, elected in particular by the mayors, are determined to largely reverse the reduction in allocations of 5 billion euros by the communities. More broadly, the upper house should also be tempted to test its margin of autonomy.
Barnier's “confidence” in the Senate “in real life”
The Prime Minister could indeed be tempted to brush aside the savings options voted by the senators. In the event of the very probable activation of article 49.3 of the Constitution upon the return of the Budget to the Assembly in a few weeks, Michel Barnier will be able to retain the Senate modifications that he wishes and exclude others.
“We will have the opportunity to see in real life how much he trusts us,” explains an LR senator.
Another imperative for the Palais du Luxembourg: to achieve a budget which is also acceptable to the Macronists. Senators just like parliamentarians will in fact have to find a common version that will satisfy both chambers – a real challenge between a Senate largely won over to the right and a National Assembly that is more fragmented than ever.
Some in the ranks of Renaissance, like MP Charles Rodwell, are already threatening not to reach an agreement in the event of an increase in employer contributions voted by the Senate.
Suffice it to say that the upper house, which has constantly played the responsibility card in recent months with the Assembly, will ultimately have to play its part.
