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(CNN) French President Emmanuel Macron will face a no-confidence vote on Monday after his decision to push through unpopular pension reforms sparked nationwide protests and criticism from lawmakers.
Anger over reforms shows no signs of abating, but Macron’s government is likely to survive.
The French government on Thursday invoked a special constitutional power to push through a controversial law to raise the retirement age for most workers from 62 to 64.
On Friday, French parliamentarians introduced two no-confidence motions against the prime minister.
To be successful, a majority of incumbents (287) must vote yes.
Macron faces two votes of no confidence over his handling of the controversial pension reform.
If successful, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne will have to resign and her pension reform bill will be rejected. That leaves French President Emmanuel Macron with the choice of replacing the prime minister or dissolving parliament.
But pension reform also has Republican support, making it difficult for the rest of the opposition to get the absolute majority they need, so a move to oust Macron is considered unlikely to succeed. .
Republican group leader Eric Ciotti tweeted, “There is no majority in these no-confidence votes. I don’t want to responsibly add chaos to chaos and throw the country into chaos.”
Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire also downplayed suggestions that the vote might succeed.
“There will be no majority to overthrow the government, but it will be a moment of truth,” Le Maire told local news outlet Le Parisien.
“I understand the public’s fears and anxieties, but denial of economic realities will never make things better,” he added.
If the no-confidence motion is passed, Prime Minister Elizabeth Borne will be forced to resign.
France, which has one of the lowest retirement ages among industrialized nations, spends nearly 14% of its economic output on pensions more than most other countries, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation.
The government argues that the current system, which relies on the working population to pay for an ever-increasing age group of retirees, is no longer fit for purpose.
But the protest movement aimed not only at pension reform, but also at the constitutional powers that forced it to pass.
Failing to obtain majority support for the bill in parliament, President Macron resorted to using Article 49.3. This allowed his government to pass bills through parliament without a vote.
A sign held by a protester saying “No to 49.3”.
The move has been widely criticized by protesters and lawmakers as undemocratic.
“We are facing a president who will use a permanent coup,” French Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure told local media.
A total of 169 people were detained during protests across France on Saturday, the interior ministry said.
Unions called for nationwide strikes and protests this Thursday in hopes of bringing the country to a halt.
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