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This week

• 🥊Pension Reform passed by Article 49.3

• 💣A censure motion on the way

• 💥Eric Ciotti targetted by rioters

• 🥊Fabien Roussel tackles Jean-Luc Mélenchon

🥊Pension Reform passed by Article 49.3

You guys know exactly what happened this week, as the francosphere has been on fire over one very important event: the use of Article 49.3 to pass the Pension reform law.

While this week’s

This is why I'm preparing a long read for you all to make sure that you guys know exactly what happened with this, what the fallout was, and why the reaction has been so violent.

💣A censure motion on the way

As a result of the above, opposition parties have been gearing up for the latest attempt to take down Elizabeth Borne’s government, and two censure motions have been put on the table.

The first deposed was the Independent Libertés, Indépendants, Outre-mer et Territoires (LIOT) group which put down a “transpartisan” motion to take down the government co-signed by the NUPES coalition.

The second was the motion tables by the Rassemblement National, who also said that they would vote for every censure motion that was put forward.

Criticising the government, the party had this to say during its announcement:

“While the French massively demonstrate their opposition to this reform, the national representation has not, at any time, been able to vote on this text, which is, despite the legality of the process, a serious breach of democratic principles"

However, how likely are these censure motions to succeed? Honestly, while it’s very uncertain, the reality is that the hurdle is quite high, requiring an absolute majority in the National Assembly, or 287 votes total.

If you’re interested in understanding how likely this is, I’ll point you towards my twitter thread from this Friday, where I calculated the likely votes in favour and the possible results:

Julien Hoez @JulienHoez

For what it’s worth, I struggle to see how #ReformeDesRetraites #MotionDeCensure will succeed in the AN with numbers as they are LFI + RN + ECO + LIOC = 204 Even with the entirety of the LR (unlikely), it only goes up to 265 Short by 22 of the 287 votes required for censure

10:07 AM ∙ Mar 17, 2023

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💥Eric Ciotti targetted by rioters

Just last night, the ongoing riots and protests took another turn, where the President of Les Républicains’s office was smashed, with graffiti on the wall making a demand: “the motion or the paving stone”. A threat to incite a vote against the government.

Eric Ciotti @ECiotti

Cette nuit ma permanence a été caillassée. Les nervis qui ont fait ça veulent par la violence faire pression sur mon vote lundi. Jamais je ne céderai aux nouveaux disciples de la Terreur.

7:43 AM ∙ Mar 19, 2023

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“Last night my permanence was stoned. The thugs who did this want to violently pressure my vote on Monday. I will never yield to the new disciples of The Terror.”

With the ongoing situation beginning to resemble the Gilets Jaunes crisis, at least in the short term, there are some genuine concerns about how violence can be used to target deputies similarly.

It became a worryingly frequent sight to see hi-vis vest-clad protestors standing outside of the houses of deputies, including those with young families, and bombarding them with abuse with impunity. We cannot have this in a civilised society.

For this reason, after Elizabeth Borne announced the use of article 49.3 to force the passage of the Pension Reform, the Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin asked the prefects of the policy to ensure the protection of all elected officials.

Initially asked by Aurore Bergé, president of the Renaissance group in the Assemblée Nationale to “mobilise the services of the state”, his actions have not required any new actions but a firm maintenance of the system currently in place.

During the week, he appeared on BFM TV to discuss the issue :

“Elected officials, especially parliamentarians, are sometimes the subject of threats, insults, insults or even malicious acts such as damage to property. These acts of intimidation and violence are unacceptable"

While currently there are no new measures in place to protect deputies, Beauveau has been clear that if necessary, “surveillance [will be] put in place around the offices of parliamentarians and their homes” to protect them.

🥊Fabien Roussel tackles Jean-Luc Mélenchon

Let’s look at a more fun, light-hearted story to cap off the story.

Fabien Roussel has now released a new book after becoming a popular figure last year due to his performance in the 2022 Presidential and Legislative elections and winning re-election as the National Secretary of the Parti Communiste Français.

With the incredibly optimistic title “Happy days are ahead of us”, Roussel’s book is intended to clarify his experiences of last year’s elections, the police search through his home regarding fictitious employment, and who he thinks launched this against him.

Spoiler: he thinks it’s someone from La France Insoumise.

He also goes in-depth into his experience in working with Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of the far-left La France Insoumise, the frictions in their relationship, and just why there have been problems between the Communists and LFI

If you’re interested, and I’ll pick this up myself, you can order it on Amazon or at your local French language bookstore.

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