Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne triggered again Article 49.3 of the Constitution to the National Assembly, this time to achieve the final adoption of the draft social security budget without a vote. This twentieth appeal to this article of the Constitution led to the announcement of a new motion of censure by the group La France insoumise, which, like the previous ones, should be rejected. This represents the final adoption of the Social Security Financing Act (PLFSS) for 2024.

In the morning, the Senate, with a majority of the right-wing opposition, rejected the draft social security budget after rereading a previous rejection motion, which was approved by 286 votes to 38. “Repeat again”complained the general rapporteur Elisabeth Doineau, who belongs to the centrist group: The parliamentary path for this budget text is identical to that of 2022, since the government must take responsibility in the assembly in order to avoid the risk of an unfavorable vote.

The final text retains some of the senators’ actions

The Social Security deficit, currently estimated at 8.7 billion in 2023, would reach 10.5 billion in 2024 for all branches, compared to 11.2 billion planned in the original text. The government plans to limit spending on health insurance to +3.2%, thanks to savings in spending on medicines, analytical laboratories and even sick leave. They ruled that the senators had eliminated this spending target “insincere”.

The Senate will still find some of its measures in the final text, such as the control of the contribution of the Agirc-Arrco supplementary pension plan and the possible increase in medical deductibles, corresponding to the remaining amount to be paid by the insured person for the medicines and consultations.