"A conflict that is entrenching the country": Sophie Binet advocates a referendum on pensions rather than the budget

François Bayrou wants a referendum on the 2026 budget , he indicated in an interview with the JDD on Saturday, May 3. He hopes to gain "the support of the French people" on a "fairly serious issue" and thus "require efforts from everyone." The government hopes to save tens of billions of euros with this budget. But for Sophie Binet, holding a referendum on this issue is a mistake.

"If there is one issue on which a referendum should be held, it is the issue of pensions ; it would allow us to emerge from this conflict which is entrenching the country," advocates the general secretary of the CGT on BFMTV.

And to insist: "We said it two years ago, we've been hammering it home for two years, the government of the time chose to push through, not to have the deputies vote and to ignore the mobilization of the French people. Emmanuel Macron paid dearly for it, at the cost of no longer having a majority today. That's what's blocking things and that's what we need to hold a referendum on."

Sophie Binet considers the Prime Minister's idea of ​​holding a referendum on the 2026 budget "surprising." According to her, François Bayrou "already doesn't have a majority in the National Assembly, and he's never been so unpopular in the polls." She concludes: "If he thinks he can push through austerity measures through a referendum, I wish him good luck."

Since organizing a referendum is not the prerogative of a prime minister, it will have to be decided by the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron. Such a method would be unprecedented in the history of the Fifth Republic.