Fillon, who has been confined to rest at his Matignon residence since Friday, introduced the second and final reading of the proposed bill in the senate on Tuesday, amid the emergence of cracks between the government and the mainly socialist opposition.
Previously, the prime minister had defended the previous passages of the bill on three occasions, twice in the lower house of parliament and once in the senate, thus marking a break with the tradition that requires the justice minister to fulfill this task.
For months now, the French premier has been at the forefront of efforts to promote a consensus with the opposition, conducting negotiations with leftist parties and working to reconcile the points of view within his majority.
In recent weeks, Fillon has also individually met several parliamentarians, including a private meeting with senators from the so-called Radical Right and Left (RDSE) group, in the hope of securing the government a few extra votes during a bicamera parliamentary session on July 21.
His speech in the senate was the only major item on his agenda Tuesday, a day that is usually marked by two weekly breakfast rendezvous bringing the majority together and ministers charged with European issues.
Coming in the midst of a series of challenges, the back pain has struck the prime minister at critical time, when the government is seeking to push through a series of priority reforms such as modernizing the economy, the labor market and the very indecisive institutional reforms.
The pain is also occurring when all economic indicators are deteriorating under the impact of a general global slowdown and rising costs of raw materials, two factors that are putting a lot of pressure on the drafting of the 2009 budget.
But, the current prime minister is not the first to suffer from health problems in the exercise of his duties in an office that is generally considered as "exhausting" by observers. "He is simply joining a long list of casualties of this office," said a former minister.
Before him, Raymond Barre had suffered from hypertension in 1979, when the second oil shock struck, in the process devastating the French economy at an unprecedented rate.
Another victim is Michel Rocard who suffered a renal colic in 1988, in the midst of peace negotiations in Nouvelle Caledonie. Jean-Pierre Raffarin had been diagnosed with a gallbladder in 2005,only days before French voters gave a resounding "no" to a draft European constitutional treaty.
Nevertheless, in sharp contrast to his predecessors, Francois Fillon has not been hospitalized, "but only advised to take it slow", said a close associate, adding that the premier was doing well given the current circumstances.
Nonetheless, the prime minister was a notable absentee from an exceptional weekend that culminated in activities to mark the July14 national holiday, arguably France's most important holiday.
The celebrations, according to many observers, were the crowning moment in a series of success achieved by President Nicolas Sarkozy, starting with the liberation of Ingrid Betancourtand the launch of the Union for the Mediterranean at a colorful ceremony attended by more than 40 heads of state and government in Paris.
When it comes to the government's push for institutional reforms, all eyes have now turned their attention to the presidential palace as the proposed bill enters the home straight, according to keen observers.
On Tuesday, President Sarkozy had summoned parliamentarians of the majority to a meeting at his office. The head of state, according to one of the lawmakers, said that "everyone must assume his or her responsibilities".
There are also growing calls from the main opposition Socialist Party for the president to make a gesture of goodwill. Jack Lang, a prominent socialist senator, has notably called on Sarkozy initiate new concessions in order to avoid the defeat of the bill.
"However, there is no doubt that any failure would be attributed not only to the head of state but also to Justice Minister Rachida Dati and, of course, Prime Minister Fillon," said a political commentator, who said the ruling party had no choice to ensure the bill is adopted.
