Paul Bérenger: “The GM will have to present a 2nd corrective budget and new tax measures”

Faced with what he describes as a "revolting provocation", namely the absence of a real dialogue with the people concerned, Paul Bérenger, of the Fron Militan Progresis, asked that "the clock be reset to zero". He strongly deplored the government method, considered “expeditious and marked by the total absence of consultation with professional bodies and a unanimous union front”.

Circulated in the middle of the night at the end of last week to be initially voted on in a hurry last Tuesday, the two bills modify no less than 83 legislative texts. “It is a gigantic volume with complex implications for dozens of professions, treated without the slightest period of reasonable reflection,†he declares, adding that “the government’s entire way of doing things, the total absence of dialogue, will not have been what a revolting provocation. And that wasn't necessary at all."

Paul Bérenger raised “the gaping flaws” in the 2026-27 budgetary trajectory. According to him, the abandonment of Means Testing causes a financial hole “of more than Rs 6 billion, which adds to the uncertainties weighing on other expected tax revenues”.

To respect the firm commitments (offsetting measures) made to international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or the Moody's agency, the executive would inevitably expose itself "to having to present a second corrective budget and new measures taxes in a few months,” the former leader of the MMM reflected.

Among the 58 amendments to the Miscellaneous Provisions Bill, two measures were particularly targeted, notably the modification of the Banking Act, which gives the Financial Crimes Commission the right to demand the direct communication of banking data without going through a judge in chambers, an obligation nevertheless still imposed on the police commissioner.

Regarding the issue of pension reform, which crystallizes the deepest concerns, Paul Bérenger declared that setting the age of the full pension at 65 years – accompanied by a penalty of 0.5% per month in case of early departure between 60 and 65 years old – arouses “unanimous and fierce opposition from the trade union world”.

Paul Bérenger also pointed out the blunders in the drafting of the bill concerning indexation to inflation. While the initial text multiplied the formulas, leaving a discretionary margin to the State (“may be increased… as may be prescribed”), the amendment tabled at the last minute creates an unprecedented legal imbroglio where “shall” always rubs shoulders with “may”.

Added to this, the speaker noted, are institutional inconsistencies, notably the announced creation of a Steering Committee made up of civil servants to manage the visi