negotiations between the government and the PS are tense

A few hours before his general policy declaration, François Bayrou continued his negotiations on Monday January 13, in particular with the Socialist Party (PS), in order to avoid censorship from part of the left. After an hour spent with the presidents of the two chambers of Parliament, Gérard Larcher and Yaël Braun-Pivet, François Bayrou received at the end of the afternoon the boss of the PS, Olivier Faure, and the heads of socialist deputies and senators, Boris Vallaud and Patrick Kanner, in order to obtain a non-censorship agreement. The representatives of the rose party remained silent as they left.

Already received in the afternoon by the ministers Catherine Vautrin, for work and health, Eric Lombard, for the economy, and Amélie de Montchalin, for public accounts, the socialist negotiators deplored being presented with a copy budgetary “unacceptable as it stands”. Philippe Brun, socialist deputy, who participated in the budget negotiations, denounced on BFM-TV “a bad comedy”.

“The meetings went well all week and what was presented to us just now? It is neither more nor less than Michel Barnier's budget, but worse, with even fewer taxes for the very, very rich and with a certain number of credits which will fall. I feel like I've been part of a prank.”he castigated. Regarding pension reform, the socialist said that, “ultimately, there will be no suspension, only a big discussion. (…) Our negotiators ask Bayrou to get his act together”.

The socialists are demanding that this suspension be effective from the start of the renegotiation of the reform envisaged for six months with the social partners, and not only in the event of its success. If this break were technically feasible, this would mean that people born in 1963 could leave at 62 years and 6 months (with a contribution period of forty-two years and one quarter) instead of 62 years and 9 months (with a duration of forty-two and a half years) as planned.

If there is no change from the government on this subject, the PS promises to vote on the motion of censure that La France insoumise announced it would table following the general policy declaration, which will be examined on Thursday or Friday. In the absence of support from the RN for this motion, the government should not fall this week in any case.

Divisions within the presidential camp

This suspension of pension reform divides even within the presidential camp. Some seem ready to accept it, as the price of political stability, like the President of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, who said “not to be opposed in principle” in fact of“stop” briefly the pension reform to « rediscuter ». Others are opposed to it, arguing its cost, estimated at around 3 billion euros for the year 2025 alone.

“To suspend is to repeal, we must stop playing with words. We cannot afford to unravel the pension reform”warned Macronist MP Mathieu Lefèvre on RMC. “It never hurts to chat, (…) but go back, waste time [et] placing France in a more critical financial situation seems to me a bad idea”also said Edouard Philippe, in Le Havre.

At his side, the Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, recalled having supported this reform in the name of “the best interest of the nation”while asserting that“there are things we can negotiate again”that there would be for example “grit to grind” on “professional wear and tear” et “senior employment”.

The PS proposes to finance this suspension through the Retirement Reserve Fund, created in the early 2000s; but “it’s not a jackpot”warned the Minister of Labor, Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet, on Radio J. For its part, the right threatens to leave the government if François Bayrou makes too many concessions to the left.

In an interview given to Parisianthe boss of the Les Républicains deputies, Laurent Wauquiez, estimated that “suspend [la réforme] without an alternative scenario » would return to “jump into the void without a parachute. It will be without the Republican right! “.

Mr. Moscovici calls for no compromises “to the detriment of public finances”

The president of the Court of Auditors, Pierre Moscovici, for his part, called on Monday not to make any budgetary compromise “to the detriment of public finances”even if he “do not fear, for France, a financial crisis in the Greek sense”. “We are faced with a situation where we must seek compromise and it is entirely logical that the government seeks it”explained Mr. Moscovici on BFM-TV. “But this must not be done to the detriment of public finances. »

Refusing to comment directly on the subject of a possible suspension of the pension reform, he simply recalled that it was necessary “significantly reduce our deficits to control our debt”. “Pension reform is subject to review, it is not perfect, we have known that from the start”he commented.

Hardship, long careers, pivotal age… “We can debate all that, but our pensions must be financially sustainable”he declared, adding: “There is the question of knowing what process we are opening so that our pensions are financed. »