PARIS: Francois Hollande faces a major test on Tuesday when his flagship economic reform bill is put to parliament, 10 days before the European Commission rules on whether France's reforms go far enough to avoid sanctions for its budget slippages.
The bill cuts red tape in a wide variety of areas including allowing more shops to open on Sundays and evenings, speeding up dismissal procedures, opening up long-distance bus routes and exposing the legal professions to more competition.
Hours before the vote an informal survey of parliamentarians showed the bill was likely to pass by a narrow majority with several Socialist lawmakers voting against it.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls said that the vote would be "very tight" and urged Socialist lawmakers to back the law, according to a lawmaker who was present when Valls spoke.
Nearly all of the centre-right UMP opposition party were due to vote against the law, the leader of the party's parliamentary group said.
The legislation, which responds to longstanding demands by the European Commission that France open up closed professions to boost its stagnant economy, is viewed as too pro-business by these lawmakers on the left of the Socialist party.
It has prompted labour unions to take to the streets in protest, while professions such as notaries, bailiffs and court clerks also oppose deregulation.
But in nearly 200 hours of debate in parliament and despite more than a thousand amendments, the government has largely stood its ground on what is France's main attempt to convince a sceptical EU that the euro zone's second-biggest economy is carrying out enough reforms to win a new reprieve on budget targets.
Government officials hope the law spearheaded by new Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron, who influenced Hollande's pro-business switch last year, will help boost growth but are not putting a precise figure on its impact.
Economists including Societe Generale analyst Michel Martinez have said the bill is a welcome move to cut red tape but "will not change the face of France" and will have limited macroeconomic impact -- which Martinez has put at about 0.5 percent within five to 10 years.
Polls show that while some in the Socialist party and the Greens, previously a partner in government with the Socialists, reject the text, 60 percent of the population back it.
EU Economics Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici, who is preparing the Commission's ruling on France, said last week the French government must have a strategy for reform that goes beyond the Macron law. "France can and must have this," he said.
Tuesday's National Assembly vote is not final, as the bill will then go to the upper house of parliament. But while this could delay its adoption, as the government does not have the upper hand in the Senate, the National Assembly has final say.
Comments
Comments are closed.