AND DIRECTLY

Crucial day for pension reform. After the accelerated vote in the Senate, seven deputies and seven senators are meeting this Wednesday behind closed doors to try to find a compromise within the framework of a joint joint committee. The text will then be submitted Thursday morning to the Senate, dominated by the right, which will validate it one last time, then to the National Assembly. The threat of 49.3 hangs over.

At the call of the inter-union, an eighth day of action is also scheduled for Wednesday. The movement remains very popular in certain sectors, a little less in others. In the street, from a police source, the information provides fewer demonstrators than March 7, the culmination of the mobilization, which had gathered 1.28 million people.

“Follow the situation live this Wednesday, March 15

3:45 p.m. – Terminal “convinced” that senators and deputies “can agree” on pension reform

“I have the greatest respect for the parliamentary work which is continuing at this very moment in the joint committee. And I am convinced that the Senate and the National Assembly can agree on a project that will guarantee the future of our pay-as-you-go pensions,” the Prime Minister told the Senate.

3:23 p.m. – 15% strikers at noon, sharp drop, according to a union source

The provisional rate of strikers approached 15% at the SNCF, a figure down sharply compared to March 7 (39%), during the ninth day of the renewable strike. The number of strikers is roughly equivalent to that of February 16, during the winter holidays when the mobilization had reached a low point.

2:47 p.m. – State civil service: the rate of strikers drops to less than 3% at midday

The rate of strikers mobilized against the pension reform fell to less than 3% in the state civil service at midday, against nearly 25% during the big day of mobilization on March 7.

In the territorial public service (2 million agents, against 2.5 million agents in the State), the rate of strikers also fell, from 11% on March 7 to 2.2% on Wednesday. In the hospital side (1.2 million agents), only 4.5% of agents are on strike Wednesday at midday against 9.4% on March 7.

2:45 p.m. – Postponement of the legal age to 64 validated by the joint committee

The parliamentarians meeting in a joint joint committee unsurprisingly adopted the famous article 7 of the pension reform project, which provides for the postponement of the legal age from 62 to 64 years. Supporters of this decline in the legal age are clearly in the majority in the composition of this commission, bringing together 7 senators and 7 deputies. If the commission was conclusive, the text resulting from the instance should still be submitted Thursday to votes by the Senate and the Assembly.

2:30 p.m. – Mélenchon accuses the government of “trying to fool everyone” in the Assembly

Jean-Luc Mélenchon accused the government “of trying to fool everyone” and in particular the right in the National Assembly. “They are in the process of twisting Les Républicains who are like accompanied luggage”, mocked the leader of La France insoumise since the Parisian demonstration, organized as part of the eighth day of mobilization by the inter-union against the postponement from retirement age to 64.

2:26 p.m. – Less than a quarter of striking employees at EDF

Less than a quarter of EDF employees (22.45%) had stopped work Wednesday at midday for the eighth day of mobilization against the pension reform, according to management. This participation is in very sharp decline compared to the previous day of mobilization during the week, March 7, during which the management had reported 41.5% of strikers at midday compared to the total workforce of the business.

1:36 p.m. – “Do not vote for this law”, says Berger (CFDT) to parliamentarians

CFDT General Secretary Laurent Berger sent a message to parliamentarians on pension reform. “I tell parliamentarians do not vote for this law, it is disconnected from the concrete reality of work,” said the union official before the start of the Paris demonstration for the eighth day of mobilization.

He also warned the government against resorting to 49.3 to have the text adopted without a vote, which would cause “tremendous anger”. His CGT counterpart Philippe Martinez felt that it would be “the worst of the worst”.

1:17 p.m. – DECRYPTION – The very political garbage collectors’ strike in Paris

And if the uncollected trash cans piling up in the streets rather than a station emptied of its passengers became the symbol of the protest against the pension reform? The question of the tons of household waste left lying flat in several cities, starting with Paris, is becoming more and more political.

Between the PS mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, who supports the movement, and the leaders of the majority, who accuse her of favoring her partisan interests over those of Parisians, the war is open.

12:23 p.m. – The left denounces a “surrealist” joint joint commission

“There is no mention of what is happening in the street,” said Green MP Sandrine Rousseau indignantly at the National Assembly about the CMP. Mathilde Panot, deputy of rebellious France, for her part evoked discussions “in total weightlessness” in relation to the country.

12:04 p.m. – The government is looking “more than ever” for a parliamentary majority, according to Véran

The government is seeking “more than ever” to obtain the support of a “natural majority” for its pension reform, government spokesman Olivier Véran said after the Council of Ministers, while the joint committee sought a compromise. on the text.

“More than ever, the government is trying to ensure that a natural majority can support this urgent and crucial reform for our country”, he said, specifying that a possible recourse to 49.3 to adopt the text “did not been mentioned”.

11:34 a.m. – The government camp would have accepted the requests of the right in CMP, assures Monique Lubin

During a break in the discussions, Senator PS, a member of the CMP on Wednesday, told reporters that the government had accepted almost all the demands of the Republicans. He would have said yes to the 43 annual contribution for long careers or to the senior CDI.

11:18 a.m. – The CGT threatens to lower the pressure on the gas networks

The CGT Energie has issued an “ultimatum” to Storengy, a subsidiary of Engie, so that it implements by Wednesday evening a significant and rare drop in pressure in the gas networks, otherwise the strikers will load, which could deprive power plants and certain industrial customers of gas.

“The general meeting of all Storengy storage sites decided this (Wednesday) morning to change the attack window” with “an ultimatum” issued to “management to bring down the entire GRT network at 49.3 bar symbolically,” Frédéric Ben, gas manager at CGT Energie, told AFP as part of the mobilization against the pension reform project.

“We will leave until (Wednesday) evening the time for the management” to put in place these pressure drops, “it will be complicated for them because they will have to deal with GRT, the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) and the government to put in place this fairly drastic drop in pressure from the networks,” he added.

10:53 a.m. – High schools blocked a few days from the baccalaureate

The 2023 baccalaureate will kick off on Monday March 20 with the specialty written tests. But the exams could be disrupted by the mobilization against the pension reform. The FO, CGT and SUD unions have indeed called for a strike the week of March 20.

Already, this Wednesday, the high school students are mobilized. Several of them block their establishment, as at the Lycée Montgrand, in Marseille. In Lille, it is the operation of the Faidherbe high school which is disturbed, according to France Insoumise, which underlines that the students are also mobilized at the Lille 2 university.

10:43 a.m. – DECRYPTION – How does the CMP work?

The meeting of the Joint Joint Commission this Wednesday is crucial. In case of agreement, it is its text which will be submitted to the vote of the two assemblies on Thursday. But by the way, who makes up this CMP? And what follow-up should be given to his work? The answers here:

10:37 a.m. – The town hall of Paris returns the ball to the State on the requisitions of the garbage collectors

While the government urges it to act against the piling up of garbage cans in the streets of the capital, the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo declares that she “does not have the power” to requisition the garbage collectors on strike against the reform of the pensions and “does not intend to ask” the State to act in this direction.

In a tweet, Anne Hidalgo rather reaffirms her support for the strikers and calls on the government to “remove its law which mistreats workers”.

10:30 a.m. – The first processions gather

At the call of the unions, the Parisian procession will set off at 2:00 p.m. from the Invalides to finish at Place d’Italie. In other cities, protesters have already started to gather in the morning. Like here, in Nice:

10:23 a.m. – Laurent Berger calls on deputies to vote “in their soul and conscience”

A few minutes before the start of the joint joint committee, the secretary general of the CFDT indicated on BFMTV that he “hoped” to convince certain deputies to vote against a reform “which will cause unease in the world of work”. “It’s normal to have group discipline, but here we are talking about reality, the world of work, those who mobilized during the Covid”, he said. According to him, voting for reform means “taking responsibility for a political world even more disconnected from the world of work”

9:44 am – Discussions under pressure, at the CMP

The deputies and senators, who began their discussions shortly after 9:00 a.m. at the Palais Bourbon, will try to agree on a final text. According to the messages posted live by the leader of the LFI deputies, Mathilde Panot, the exchanges began with a speech by the rapporteurs of the bill in the Assembly and the Senate, who presented their arguments. . Mathilde Panot also spoke out to reaffirm her opposition to the text:

9:25 a.m. – Aurélien Pradié confirms that he will vote against the reform

The deputy for Lot, dismissed from his post as executive vice-president of LR by Eric Ciotti, reaffirmed this morning on France Info that he will not vote for the reform. “I haven’t changed my mind since the beginning. I can be blamed for a number of things but not the lack of consistency, ”he explained.

The deputy says he is ready to seize the Constitutional Council in the event of a forced passage of the government. “I think we will have a constitutional question in the event of 49.3, and I will be one of those who ask it,” says Aurélien Pradié. “I am very worried to see how much of a risk there is of a democratic breakdown in this country.”

9:07 a.m. – “Our desire is not to go through a 49.3”, assures Olivier Véran

The government spokesperson, Olivier Véran, repeated it this morning on Europe 1: the government does not have the will to go through a 49.3 but by a vote. “We are giving ourselves all the means to ensure that the conditions for the vote are met, which will allow us to bring this pension reform to an end,” he explained.

9:02 a.m. – The CMP begins

The seven deputies and seven senators (and as many substitutes) began their meeting at 9 a.m. The discussions took place behind closed doors, at the Palais Bourbon.

8:56 a.m. – Mathilde Panot promises to broadcast the discussions at the CMP

Part of the left has asked that the debates within the CMP this Wednesday be public to avoid, according to the coordinator of La France insoumise, Manuel Bompard, “schemes and shenanigans”. In vain. As a result, the leader of the LFI deputies, Mathilde Panot, who will be part of the CMP, promised to tweet the exchanges and to organize press points outside the room.

A few minutes before the start of the meeting, the deputy published on the social network her proposed amendment:

8:40 a.m. – FOCUS – The ambiguous position of LRs in the face of the 49.3 hypothesis

Bruno Retailleau said this Wednesday morning: “better a 49.3 than no reform at all”. However, the position of LR deputies on the subject seems more complex. The hypothesis of an adoption without a vote has many advantages for the right, uncertain about abstention in its own ranks and in a hurry to get out of the trap of pensions.

8:20 am – “If the CMP is not conclusive, it’s dead”

Bruno Retailleau, leader of the LRs in the Senate, said he was “worried” this Wednesday not to see unanimity among the LR deputies in favor of the reform. “I have no certainty (about the vote of the LR deputies in the Assembly),” he said on France Inter. “I say to those who are reluctant to vote for the text that the policy is a clear line,” he added. “This is our reform. This reform, we have designed and voted for four years in the Senate. What would we have looked like so brutally we would have turned our jackets around? What damages politics the most is inconstancy, ”said Bruno Retailleau.

“If the CMP is not conclusive, it’s dead, we will have 49.3”, he assures. But “it is better to 49.3 than no reform at all”, according to Senator LR, who recalls that “there are no reforms that do not result in strong challenges”.

8:05 a.m. – “I am convinced that this CMP can succeed,” says Dussopt

“I hope it will be conclusive. “The Minister of Labour, Olivier Dussopt, declared, this Wednesday morning on Public Senate, that he hoped that the deputies and senators meeting in a joint joint committee will find “a compromise text”. “I am convinced that this CMP can succeed in particular because there are common points between what the majority in the Assembly and the senatorial majority in the Senate defend,” he said.

Then, in the Assembly, on Thursday, “if all the deputies who are attached to the survival of the pay-as-you-go system, to intergenerational solidarity, to the best consideration of hardship […] vote for a text in which they find themselves, there will be no problem of majority”, he assures. “The text meets the expectations of the presidential majority, but it is also a text that meets the expectations of many opposition parties, in particular the Republicans. The conditions are met,” he said. “We want to be able to go to the vote with a majority which in our eyes exists on this text”.

8:00 a.m. – Electricians and gas workers mobilized, refineries mark time

The electricity sector remains very mobilized on Wednesday. Already on Tuesday, nuclear, thermal and hydraulic power plants experienced production cuts, in addition to punch actions, such as at the Enedis headquarters in Limoges, whose access was blocked by trucks.

On the gas side, the four French LNG terminals have voted to renew their strike action until the beginning of next week. On the other hand, in most refineries, the strikers are reluctant to shut down the sites completely when stocks are almost full. At the TotalEnergies refinery in Feyzin (Rhône), fuel shipments should however be interrupted again this Wednesday.

The strike also continues at the other oil groups. In particular at the Esso-ExxonMobil refinery in Fos-sur-Mer (Bouches-du-Rhône) and at the Petroineos refinery in Lavera (Bouches-du-Rhône), according to the CGT.

7:50 a.m. – The transport strike is running out of steam

Mobilization seems to be running out of steam in certain sections of transport. On the rail side, traffic will nevertheless remain disrupted this Wednesday, with in particular 3 out of 5 TGVs and difficulties in Ile-de-France, according to management.

In the air, the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) asked airlines to cancel this Wednesday 20% of their flights at Paris-Orly due to a strike by air traffic controllers. Flight cancellations for this new day of interprofessional mobilization are thus expected to be fewer than last week.

Tuesday’s highlights

> The garbage collectors’ strike renewed in Paris, Darmanin requests a requisition of staff

“At least until March 20”: the garbage collectors and cleaning agents of the City of Paris, who contest the pension reform project, voted on Tuesday to continue their strike in the capital where waste is piled up on the sidewalks. In the middle of the evening, because of the “sanitary conditions” prevailing in Paris, Gérald Darmanin instructed the Paris police chief, Laurent Nunez, to ask the town hall to “requisition” means in order to evacuate the garbage.

> The government appeals to the right

Elisabeth Borne assured, on Tuesday during questions to the government in the National Assembly, that a positive vote by right-wing deputies on her pension reform would not be interpreted as “support for the government”, launching a new appeal to these voices. crucial. “A majority exists, which is not afraid of reforms, even unpopular ones, when they are necessary,” she added.

> Valérie Rabault believes in the shared initiative referendum

The Socialist MP said on Tuesday that she believed “very much” in the possibility of a shared initiative referendum (RIP) to counter the government’s pension reform. Recalling that this would “block for nine months the implementation of this reform”, and perhaps more.