France’s divided parliament on Friday passed its first major law since last month’s elections, giving the green light to a €20 billion package to help low-income families struggling with inflation.
The early-morning vote gave a boost to President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist government, which is 39 seats short of a majority and keen to show it can reach consensus.
The so-called “Purchasing Power Emergency Law” was passed just before 06:00 (0400 GMT) with 341 MPs in favour, 116 against and 21 abstentions.
“Building majorities for projects to offer real solutions to the French people: we have succeeded,” Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne wrote on Twitter.
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party and right-wing Republicans both voted in favor, while most left-wing MPs opposed.
The legislation includes a range of measures designed to help consumers, such as: These include extending fuel tax cuts, raising pensions and benefits, and capping rent increases.
It also gives the government powers to deal with a looming energy crisis caused by the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
One of the most controversial measures authorizes the state to reopen a coal-fired power plant in eastern France in the event of power outages this winter.
“The return of coal is not good news,” admitted Maud Bregeon of Macron’s Republic on the Move party, defending it as a “temporary” response to “an exceptional situation.”
The bill will now go to the Senate, where it is expected to pass.
– ‘Kiss of death?’ –
French politics has entered an unusual period of instability following last month’s general election, which saw Macron lose his majority just two months after being re-elected for a second term.
The government suffered its first defeat in mid-July when opposition parties rejected a proposal to require travelers to show proof of vaccination against Covid-19.
The first fortnight of debates was frequently bad-tempered, with a ruling MP saying the assembly had “a football-match atmosphere”.
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, whose RN party gained tenfold election seats, has tried to portray her bloc of MPs as a responsible opposition force.
“We as RN MPs clearly got the message from the French people,” she said earlier this week. “They don’t want obstruction, they want constructive work.”
She has ordered her MPs to dress smartly in Parliament – part of a decades-long effort to change the image of her once-marginal party, long associated with racism.
“The truth is that by voting on these bills, the National Assembly is giving us the kiss of death,” a Macron ally admitted to Le Figaro newspaper this week.
A new poll released on Friday showed most French people – 58 percent – thought the hanging parliament was a good thing, up two percentage points.
Macron and Borne also benefited from a surge in popularity over the past month, according to the poll by the BVA survey group.
A total of 43 percent of respondents rated Macron positively, up five points since June, and 49 percent had a positive opinion of Borne, up eight points.
Although the Cost of Living Act passed by a large majority, analysts say other bills, such as pension reform, will be far more difficult.
Another vote to approve an emergency budget to fund the living expenses package will follow, possibly with debates this weekend.
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