why Wauquiez himself announced the revaluation of all pensions

The boss of LR deputies spoke on November 11 to announce the revaluation of “all pensions” on January 1. The method annoys Macronist deputies who see it as bad manners, not to mention that the financing of the measure raises questions. The right is delighted to be able to show that it is pushing its pawns.

A surprise. The president of LR deputies, Laurent Wauquiez announced Monday evening that he had found a compromise with the government so that “all pensions” would be increased by “half of inflation” from January 1, with a second catch-up for the smallest pensions in July.

A great blow for the right which has constantly campaigned in recent months behind the scenes against the postponement of the indexation of pensions defended by Michel Barnier to make 4 billion euros in savings.

“I say bravo. A TF1 newspaper for an announcement that concerns millions of French people… It’s great work that we are crediting,” an LR MP rejoices to BFMTV.com.

“Victures” to the LR’s credit

It must be said that the right has spared no effort on the subject in recent months. Meeting around Michel Barnier in mid-October, multiple exchanges with the Prime Minister and the boss of LR deputies… Since Matignon's announcement to involve retirees in the “national effort” to recover public finances, the right is getting organized.

The system envisaged by the government was all the less successful as in the legislative pact presented by Laurent Wauquiez and Bruno Retailleau last July, the right posed as a “red line” “the savings that would be made on the backs of retirees”.

“It’s good that we have victories to our credit. We are not going to make all the work we have done in this direction neutral. It is logical to say so,” observes MP LR Véronique. Louwagie.

“I didn’t know that Mr. Wauquiez was a minister”

However, the method chosen to announce this compromise is surprising. Usually, it is the Minister of the Budget or even the Prime Minister who announces this type of arbitration.

“It’s surprising, I didn’t remember seeing the name of Laurent Wauquiez in Alexis Kohler’s press release announcing the composition of the government,” squeaks a Renaissance MP.

“The form is incredible, I didn't know that Mr. Wauquiez was a minister,” says MP Éric Woerth, long elected on the right-wing benches.

A “logical” announcement for the government

Did Michel Barnier want to smooth things over with the right, already forced to support several measures quite distant from its DNA, like an exceptional contribution for the most well-off, by offering it the first of this announcement? No, replies Matignon.

“The Prime Minister had said from the start that he would find compromises with the common base. It is an enhancement of parliamentary work. Laurent Wauquiez wished to speak and of course informed Michel Barnier in advance”, assures us one of his relatives.

Same story with the Minister of Budget and Public Accounts who considers it “logical” that the right itself announces the “compromise found” with the government.

“Barnier’s debt to Wauquiez”

In the ranks of the right, however, we recognize that Michel Barnier is giving a gift to Laurent Wauquiez. It must be said that the president of the LR deputies would have seen himself becoming Minister of the Interior or taking up residence in Bercy.

“We must see in this announcement a courtesy from Michel Barnier. He did not take Laurent Wauquiez into the government. So he owed a debt to him,” deciphers LR deputy Julien Dive.

But will the Prime Minister lose on the one hand what he has gained on the other by rounding corners with the right? In the Macronist camp, Laurent Wauquiez's announcement goes down poorly in substance.

It must be said that the financing of the measure estimated at between “500 million and one billion euros”, according to Laurent Wauquiez, remains very vague for the moment.

“We don’t even know how this is going to be financed”

The former LR president of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region intends to find this money in a context of very strained public finances by rationalizing “administrative bureaucracy” through the merger in particular of France Stratégie and the High Commission for Planning – already announced during the general policy speech by Michel Barnier.

“We will never find the amount we are looking for just with that. If it ends with an increase in employer contributions to finance the reindexation of all pensions, it will be no,” annoys Renaissance MP Charles Rodwell.

Former government spokesperson Prisca Thévenot is hardly more tender. “We were good students in saying 'for each expense we will propose an equivalent recipe' and then Mr. Wauquiez arrives on TF1, makes his announcement and leaves as he came”, annoys the elected Macronist in a loop of deputies. It’s “irresponsible and populist,” she continues.

“We don’t even know how this is going to be financed,” growls Macronist MP Mathieu Lefèvre.

“Staggering and incomprehensible”

In the camp of the Minister of Public Accounts, we refer the arbitrations to the Senate which is considering this Tuesday in committee the Social Security budget before the debates in the hemicycle.

Enough to calm Renaissance? Nothing is less certain. The maneuver is going all the worse as Michel Barnier has so far made little compromise with the Renaissance deputies, who are twice as numerous as the LR deputies.

The calendar is also displeasing, just a few hours before the budget vote in the National Assembly. “It can rob a lot of people, it’s going it alone when we should be standing together,” lectures Éric Woerth.

“It is astonishing and incomprehensible for the central bloc that such a gift is given to Laurent Wauquiez,” still sharply criticizes a Macronist elected official.

“This pseudo-majority is getting away with it”

Proof of the anger in the ranks of Emmanuel Macron's camp: some are even starting to threaten to vote against the budget in the joint committee, this body between deputies and senators responsible for finding a compromise. Failure would be a catastrophe for Michel Barnier and would open the door to an unprecedented political situation.

In the meantime, the left, which prides itself on having considerably changed Michel Barnier's budget by making it “NFP compatible” with the addition of numerous measures – from new taxes on superprofits to the taxation of share buybacks through the increase in taxes on billionaires – enjoy the moment.

“When we asked for the revaluation of pensions (during the debates on the budget), we did not see much of Mr. Wauquiez in the hemicycle,” smiles the rebellious MP Antoine Léaument. “This pseudo-majority takes advantage of who makes the announcements, but as long as retirement pensions are increased, we are happy about it.”