Demos, strikes planned over pension reform project in France as decisive week starts

By Nur Asena Erturk

ANKARA (AA) - This week will be a decisive one in France as the parliament is set to debate the government's pension reform plan.

Nationwide demonstrations and walkouts marked the country last week with millions protesting against the plan – which triggered public outrage as soon as it was announced last year.

Workers and unions representing them held demonstrations for the sixth and seventh time since January, on March 7 and 11, and walkouts were extended to this week in some sectors, including railway transportation, oil refineries, and garbage collection.

The Senate approved the draft bill on Saturday evening.

- Next steps

The reform plan will now be transferred to the joint mixed committee, formed of seven senators and seven members of the parliament.

This committee is in charge of finding common ground between the parliament and the Senate over the final version of the draft bill.

Trade unions last week decided to take to the streets on Wednesday for the eighth time, while the committee should achieve its duty and transfer the draft bill to the Senate, then to the parliament for a final vote on Thursday.

The ultimate deadline for the adoption of the reform project is March 26.

- Government's short-circuit tools

If the Senate and the parliament are not in harmony over the draft bill, the text will be sent back to the parliament to restart a new reading and a vote.

The public is dreading two articles of the constitution at this point – 47.1 and 49.3 – the government's possible tools to short-circuit the parliamentary process and accelerate the adoption of the reform plan by shortening the process.

If the second round of reading and vote is not achieved by March 26, the government can either invoke Article 47.1 to accelerate the process by giving the MPs only 50 days to finish, or trigger Article 49.3 to pass the bill without a parliamentary vote.

Government spokesperson Olivier Veran on Sunday said they are not in favor of using Article 49.3, adding that they are looking for a consensus.