Parliamentary debates on the "end of life," disrupted by the political crisis, will have to be resolved "before the 2027 presidential election," government spokesperson Maud Bregeon said in an interview with Le Parisien on Saturday.
Two bills are involved. The first, more consensual, concerns palliative care, and the second, much more sensitive, concerns the creation of assisted dying. Both texts were adopted at the end of May by the National Assembly on first reading.
But the date for their examination in the Senate has still not been confirmed.
"We will propose to the Senate the inclusion of the two texts, on palliative care and active assistance in dying, following the budget review," assured Maud Bregeon. "This debate will have to be resolved before the 2027 presidential election."
The Senate had initially planned two weeks of examination of these texts starting on October 7, but the fall of François Bayrou's government caused an initial postponement.
A discussion starting on October 20 was then envisaged, but again, this date could not be held due to the resignation of Sébastien Lecornu, who was finally reappointed Prime Minister a few days later.
These postponements raise fears that a final vote may be impossible before the next presidential election. Two readings will be required in each chamber before it is finalized—and the Senate, which leans to the right and has expressed some reservations, may want to amend the text on assisted dying.
"We are in a rut," denounced MoDem MP Olivier Falorni, who initiated the end-of-life bills, on France Inter on Saturday.
According to the centrist elected official, "the majority LR group (in the Senate, editor's note) is doing everything to ensure that this debate does not take place." The government, which has weeks reserved, must therefore either include "these two important texts on the Senate's agenda" or "resort to a referendum."
English 
French