The National Assembly debate
comes after tens of thousands of left-wing protesters marched through Paris on
Sunday denouncing EU-imposed belt-tightening, although they insisted they were
not criticising the government of Socialist President Francois Hollande.
Prime Minister Jean-Marc
Ayrault set the tone, saying France would not be sacrificing its
"sovereignty" by ratifying the text.
"The treaty itself imposes
no constraints on public spending," he said. "It does not specify how
it should be distributed. It does not dictate the methods one has to take to
balance public finances.
"Fiscal sovereignty will
remain with parliament," he said.
Hollande's cabinet has already
backed the pact, which includes a so-called golden rule requiring countries
with high debt to keep their structural deficits below 0.5 percent of gross
domestic product.
Ayrault said France's
Constitutional Council had "already ruled on this matter and no 'golden
rule' will be enshrined in our basic law," he said.
Hollande has acknowledged that
the going will be tough, saying that "it is true that the situation is
difficult".
Ayrault earlier voiced hope
that the measure would be "massively adopted" by parliament, adding
"the stronger the vote, the stronger will be France's voice and the more
we can continue to work towards the reorientation of Europe."
Many on the French left --
including within the Socialists and their Green Party allies -- have said they
will vote against the measure but, with right-wing deputies backing the pact,
it is expected to be approved.
On Friday, Hollande's
government unveiled a 2013 budget aimed at plugging the 37-billion-euro ($47
billion) hole in France's public finances through tax increases and spending
cuts.
Ayrault had earlier also taken
pains to stress that Hollande had not given in to Germany, the European Union's
main paymaster, by implementing austerity policies.
In line with a pact agreed by
eurozone leaders earlier this year, France is committed to reducing the size of
its deficit from around 4.5 percent of GDP this year to three percent in 2013
and to balance the budget by 2017.
The issue is divisive. Far-left
leader Jean-Luc Melenchon -- who led Sunday's protest in Paris -- has warned of
"collapse" if spiraling unemployment, now over three million,
continues to rise, and called for a referendum.
On Tuesday he said the
"government is unmasked" adding that "contrary to what Ayrault
said ... this is universal austerity" for Europe.
"The Greek, Portuguese and
Spanish crises will now be on the agenda in France."
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen
of the National Front has also urged a vote be held to "determine our
destiny as a sovereign nation".
Signed in March, the pact must
be approved by 12 of 17 eurozone members to take effect at the start of next
year.
Nine eurozone states have
ratified the pact so far.
0 comments:
Post a Comment