"We must move forward": MPs deprived of weekends for the last three weeks of May

"There is work to be done, and we must move forward." Members of parliament will be invited to sit in the National Assembly for more days than planned during the last three weeks of May to advance the examination of several laws, BFMTV has learned from concordant sources.

During a tense interview, Marine Le Pen declared on Tuesday, April 29, that "the government has decided to open the National Assembly seven days a week." This information was confirmed to BFMTV by a government source.

"Since it was difficult to sit on May 2 or 9, we proposed sitting over the following three weekends to complete the simplification, palliative care, and end-of-life laws," she said. "I think it's worth it, and everyone agreed on that."

The government announced this morning at the Conference of Presidents that several sessions could be held on weekends in May. Fridays, May 1st and 9th were initially proposed, "but a majority of group presidents, including Gabriel Attal, opposed it," said a Modem councilor. They cited, in particular, the short timeframe for organizing and their commitment to being present in their constituencies for the May 8th commemorations.

It was therefore decided to open the following weeks. Saturday 17, Sunday 18, Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 will be devoted to continuing the examination of the proposed laws relating to palliative and supportive care and end of life . Friday 30 and Saturday 31 May will allow for progress on the examination of the bill to simplify economic life.

Other sources tell BFMTV that the chamber will be open on Fridays, May 16 and 23.

"There is work to be done and we must move forward," said a source close to Patrick Magnola, Minister Delegate for Relations with Parliament.

"He wanted us to sit on Friday to move forward on simplification, there are more than 1,000 amendments left..." the same source said.

MPs are usually "rarely" present on Mondays and Fridays, days when most of them are in their constituencies. But for the minister's entourage, "sitting Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday is not enough."