the use of 49.3 would be “dangerous”, warns Laurent Berger

Laurent Berger, secretary general of the CFDT, (in the center) surrounded by other union representatives during the Parisian demonstration against the pension reform of March 11, 2023. EMMANUEL DUNAND / AFP

Using article 49.3 for the pension reform would constitute ” a form of democratic vice ” at a time ” amazing and dangerous “, warns Laurent Berger, secretary general of the CFDT, in a interview granted to the Sunday newspaper following its adoption in the Senate.

The text was approved after further day of protestsas part of a blocked vote under Article 44.3 of the Constitution, which allows a single vote on the whole of the bill, without putting to the vote the amendments to which the government is unfavorable. If deputies and senators reach an agreement on Wednesday in a joint committee, it could be definitively adopted the next day.

“The Prime Minister [Elisabeth Borne] does not want 49-3. She said it. There is therefore no reason for the government to do so… Let’s say things: the debate did not take place in the National Assembly, and it was accelerated in the Senate, whereas the latter has the habit of going to the end of the texts in a serene atmosphere. In this context, adopting this reform thanks to 49-3 is impossible”judge Laurent Berger.

“To adopt via this hasty procedure a reform that is both very impactful for the lives of tens of millions of people, unfair from our point of view and badly cobbled together, would be a form of democratic vice”he continues. “That the end of the story is a 49.3 seems incredible and dangerous to me”. Conversely, “if Parliament votes on the text, but it is far from done, it will have to be noted”he acknowledges, while considering that “in any case, the whole world of work rejects this reform”.

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“A very deep resentment”

” It’s not the France of lazy people who demonstrate: it’s that of those who work every day, in all regions and professions! And the response of the government, which explains that the only option is to pass the reform whatever the cost, is contempt. This is why the determination that is expressed in the street is turning into anger. To break this impasse, why not ask citizens what they think of the transition from 62 to 64 through a referendum? “.

“The determination that is expressed in the street”after seven days of mobilization and before an eighth Wednesday, “is turning into anger”warns the leader of the CFDT, for whom “The protest in the world of work is massive, deep and lasting”And “It’s not because this text would be adopted that people will say to themselves: ‘We’re moving on to the next sequence’. That’s what the techs advising the government believe. And they are wrong”.

“If the law is adopted without taking into account the expression of the social movement, we will not find ourselves, the next morning, discussing as if nothing had happened”he predicted. “I never condone violence. Afterwards, maybe it will be an unfortunate consequence in the face of the contempt we face. There is a very deep resentment in the world of work. »

The World with AFP

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