The President’s Government Emmanuel Macron survived a Monday motion of censure in the National Assembly after he bypassed the lower house to push through a deeply unpopular overhaul of the pension system that will push back the age of retirement.
Some 278 deputies voted in favor of a tripartite motion of no confidence, just short of the 287 needed for it to succeed.
A second motion of no confidence, presented by the far-right Agrupación Nacional (RN), failed to pass as other opposition parties said they would not vote in favour.
A successful vote of no confidence would have sunk the government and struck down the legislation, which is set to raise the retirement age by two years to 64.
But even after defeating the vote of no confidence, Macron’s failure to find enough support in parliament to put his pension reform to a vote has undermined his reformist agenda and weakened his leadership, observers say.
Opposition parties will also challenge the bill in the Constitutional Council, which could decide to annul part of it if it considers it violates the constitution.
Violent riots broke out in several cities, including the capital Paris, and unions vowed to intensify their movement, leaving Macron facing the most dangerous challenge to his authority since the revolt of the “yellow vests”.
Unions and protesters, angry with the reform and the fact that it was adopted without a vote, said they would continue their strikes and protests.
“We will meet again on Thursday”, Helene Mayans of the left-wing CGT union said at a rally in Paris.
“The government would continue to function, although it would be significantly weakened, while the social protests against the reform would probably continue for a few weeks, which could negatively affect the french economy”Barclays said in a briefing note ahead of the vote.
An opinion poll by Elabe showed that two-thirds of French people want the fall of the government, underscoring the public perception challenges Macron faces.
Source: Reuters
Source: Gestion
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