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Macron imposes his pension reform in France without the vote of the deputies

Macron imposes his pension reform in France without the vote of the deputies

President French, Emmanuel Macrondecided this Thursday to adopt his unpopular pension reform without the vote of the deputies, risking the fall of the government of his prime minister in a motion of no confidence and an upsurge in protests.

“We cannot place bets on the future of our pensions”, said the Prime Minister, Élisabeth Borne, when announcing to the shouts of the opposition deputies the use of the controversial article 49.3 of the Constitution, fearing that she would not obtain the necessary votes in the Assembly.

After learning of the decision, several thousand people gathered in the Plaza de la Concordia, hundreds of meters from the Assembly, to protest against the reform and against the use of this legal mechanism, whose detractors consider undemocratic.

“The 49.3 necessarily strengthens the determination a little”, Ruben, a 20-year-old Political Science student, told AFP. “I’m fed up. We have been mobilizing for weeks and the only response from the government is to use it,” lament.

The 100th activation of this controversial tool since 1958 could intensify tension with the unions, which are already considering calling “new manifestations” after two months of mass protests, CFDT leader Laurent Berger said.

Despite the rejection of two out of three French people, according to polls, Macron wants to delay the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030 and bring forward to 2027 the requirement to contribute 43 years (and not 42 as up to now) to collect a pension complete.

During the Council of Ministers that authorized the use of 49.3, the president considered that it could not be played “with the future of the country” and? “the financial and economic risks were very great” to lose the vote, according to participants in the meeting.

The second largest economy in the European Union (EU) has one of the lowest retirement ages in the bloc and, according to the government, would face a future deficit in the pension fund, which this reform seeks to alleviate.

“France has a system that is not sustainable”, said the Spanish Socialist Minister of Social Security, José Luis Escrivá, assuring that he has been slow to reform it. In Spain, the retirement age will be 67 years in 2027.

Motion of censure

The only way to prevent its application now is for the deputies to approve a motion of censure against the government, which would be debated in the coming days. The far-right leader Marine Le Pen has already announced the presentation of one.

“It is the confirmation of a total failure” for Macron, added his rival in the second round of the last presidential election. According to polls, Le Pen’s party comes out stronger in the fight over pensions.

Beyond the project, the 45-year-old president, re-elected almost a year ago with the promise of reforming France, is playing with that reform to be able to apply his program during his second term.

With the go-ahead secured in the Senate, which approved it in the morning, the government made an effort to convince the handful of pro-government deputies and the “score” from his right-wing ally Los Republicanos (LR) still reluctant. But without success.

The leader of this party, Éric Ciotti, indicated that they will not support any motion of no confidence, although Aurélien Pradié, one of the reluctant deputies, assured that “he will think about it.”

The group of independent deputies LIOT studies presenting a motion of censure, if the government does not withdraw the reform. This could collect the maximum number of support possible, but it is uncertain if it would succeed in overthrowing the government.

“The government was faced with two bad solutions”: risk a vote and lose, and activate 49.3, indicated Antoine Bristielle, public opinion expert at the Jean Jaurès Foundation, for whom the path chosen “it will give a second wind” to the protests.

The new episode in the pension saga came when extendable strikes launched last week in key sectors such as energy and transport were losing steam, despite strong images of the tons of garbage accumulated in Paris.

If the motion of censure fails and the reform is finally adopted, the leftist opposition prepares an appeal before the Constitutional Council that would delay its promulgation and give opponents more time to use their last cartridges, such as calling for a referendum.

Source: AFP

Source: Gestion

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