The government buried on Monday, April 13, the text that wanted to authorize new professions to work on May 1st. Without flowers or wreaths. This proposed law was carried by former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, who mentioned the cases of bakers and florists. On Friday, Macronist deputies, supported by the right and the National Rally, voted to reject it to accelerate the legislative process by quickly convening a joint committee of deputies and senators. In the end, it will not happen. Editorial.
The Minister of Labor, Jean-Pierre Farandou, announced on Monday evening at the end of a meeting with unions, all vehemently against this proposal. Like the left, including socialists, who threatened to submit a vote of censure in the Assembly. May 1st, Labor Day, is a historical symbol and a politically explosive issue. The government could not afford to touch it. Its survival was worth a significant retreat.
It is clearly an admission of weakness. A capitulation that frustrates Gabriel Attal. He urges the executive not to penalize the artisans who choose to open next May 1st. At Renaissance, it is pointed out that the proposal was based on volunteering, with double pay for a day of work, that it was voted on in the Senate in 2025, and that it is approved by a majority of public opinion according to several surveys. However, this government, facing programmed obsolescence, is too weak to confront a united political and unionized left. Especially in a context where anxiety about purchasing power is rising again due to the skyrocketing fuel prices.
The dissolution deprived the country of a stable majority. With, on one side, Gabriel Attal and Bruno Retailleau denouncing its timidity – especially as they are both campaigning for the presidential election – and on the other side, the rebels claiming victory. The government is trapped. It cannot reform by 2027. Key issues are postponed until after the presidential election, starting with pension reform, which has been suspended.
There is total immobility on the public finance front. Despite the urgency, these major issues are sidelined to the Elysee debate. It is due to the dissolution, which deprived the country of a stable majority. The executive fears new legislative hurdles in the coming days, such as the bill to combat “renewed forms of anti-Semitism” or the simplification law and the fate of low-emission zones: parliamentarians could once again stand against the government.
“The Prime Minister is here to last and endure,” said De Gaulle. In these times, Sébastien Lecornu would gladly settle for lasting a little longer.
