Constitutional experts whittled away Wednesday at the more than 137,500 amendments filed as part of a tactical skirmish by the left to block a bill to privatize national gas company Gaz de France, a day before French lawmakers open what is certain to be a bitter debate on the divisive legislation. Experts threw out 17,028 of the 93,676 amendments filed by the 22 Communist lawmakers, but the pile remaining — 120,509 — still set a record that underscored the political stakes for the government of Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin seven months ahead of the presidential election. The president of the National Assembly, the lower chamber, called on lawmakers to withdraw amendments themselves so that normal debate could take place. In an interview with the daily Le Figaro, he said it would take eight years and 80 days of normal sessions to discuss each of the amendments to the bill. The debate is set to last two weeks, until Sept. 22.
The privatization would open the way to the planned merger of Gaz de France, or GDF, with Suez SA, a marriage that has also raised questions by antitrust officials of the European Commission. It would reduce the state's stake in GDF from 70 percent to a third. The €39 billion (US$50 billion) merger plan was announced in February amid reports that Italy's Enel SpA could launch a hostile takeover of Suez. "I say to my colleagues of the opposition that their attitude hinders debate. If they want to discuss the fundamentals of the text, they must reduce the number of amendments," Debre told Le Figaro. "The National Assembly must not make itself ridiculous. I will not accept that this institution be paralyzed," he added.
The debate on the bill puts the government in a tricky situation. With its wide majority, holding 363 of the 577 National Assembly seats, there is no risk it would lose a vote. However, the pile of amendments could be an insurmountable obstacle, forcing the government to brandish Article 49.3 of the constitution to pass the bill without a vote. The authoritarian measure — used by Villepin to pass an unpopular jobs bill earlier this year — fed a crisis that led to clashes with angry students. Villepin was ultimately forced to withdraw the law.
The left gained an ally this week in its fight against the legislation. Centrist leader Francois Bayrou, campaigning for the presidency himself, announced Tuesday that his group would oppose the bill. While lawmakers parlay, GDF's 70,000 employees were called on to cast ballots in a union-organized referendum on the privatization. The Communist-backed CGT and the Workers Force organized a "day of action" with street protests for Sept. 12. |