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Paris (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron By bypassing Congress and exercising a special constitutional power, he imposed a highly unpopular bill Thursday that would raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.
Lawmakers screamed with emotion as Macron took a risky move. With sirens blaring, riot police vans zip past outside the Capitol.
Proposed pension changes provoked mass strikes and protests across the country From January. Mr Macron, the flagship in his second term, argued that reforms were needed to prevent the pension system from slipping into the red as France’s population aged and life expectancy increased.
With no guarantee that President Macron would win a majority in the French House of Commons, the decision was made to exercise special powers during a ministerial meeting at the Élysée presidential palace just minutes before the scheduled vote.
Later, when Prime Minister Elisabeth Born was about to formally announce the decision in parliament, members of the Left burst into the French national anthem and delayed her speech. Speakers had to suspend the session to restore order.
“Today, there is uncertainty as to whether the majority will vote in favor of the bill ‘by a few votes,'” Born explained. We can’t jeopardize … we can’t bet on the future of pensions, we need that reform,” she said.
Born said her government was accountable to parliament, prompting boos from fellow opposition parties.
“In a few days, there will be no doubt … there will be one or more no-confidence motions. I will,” she added.
Opposition MPs emerged one after another from parliament and demanded the government resign. One Communist Party lawmaker called the presidential power a political “guillotine.” Some have called it a “denial of democracy” that shows President Macron’s lack of legitimacy. One union leader called it “systemic violence” and called for more strikes and protests.
Marine Le Pen said her far-right National Assembly party would submit a no-confidence motion, and Communist Party lawmaker Fabien Roussel said such a motion was “ready” on the left.
“Mobilization will continue,” Roussel said. “This reform must be suspended.”
Republican leader Eric Ciotti said his group did not intend to “add chaos to chaos” by supporting the no-confidence motion, but his fellow conservatives at odds with Republican leaders may vote individually on such motions.
A no-confidence motion requires at least half of the seats in the House of Representatives, which currently stands at 287, to pass. In such a case, for the first time since 1962, the government would have to resign.
If the no-confidence motion is not passed, the pension bill will be considered adopted.
Early Thursday, the Senate adopted the bill by a vote of 193 to 114. It’s a much-anticipated tally since Congress’ Senate conservative majority backed raising the retirement age.
Mr Macron’s coalition lost a parliamentary majority last year, forcing the government to rely on conservative lawmakers to pass legislation. The outcome was unpredictable, as left-wing and far-right legislators strongly opposed it and conservatives were divided.
French leaders want to raise the retirement age so workers can put more money into the system, but the government says it’s headed for a deficit.
President Macron pushes pension reform central to his vision To make the French economy more competitive. The reform will raise the minimum pension age and, among other measures, he will have to work 43 years to get his full pension.
After nearly 500,000 people opposed the bill, union leaders reacted with anger and determination to strike more in a dayFrançois Homeril of the CFE-CGC, which represents energy workers among others, said the government “forces the vote when it knows it is certain to win” and “blocks the vote when it knows it will lose”. said.
Hundreds of people attended an unannounced rally on the Place de la Concorde across the Seine from the National Assembly. Leftist leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon told the crowd that Macron had “been over the head of the will of the people”.
Members of Mélenchon’s French Indomitable Party were among the deputies who sang Marseille in an attempt to block the prime minister’s call to force the bill through without a vote.
Economic challenges are causing widespread anxiety across Western Europe.In many countries, such as France, where birth rates are so low, young workers may not be able to maintain pensions for retirees. announced an agreement to save the pension system.
Spain’s social security minister, José Luis Escriva, said the French model was very different and unsustainable, saying it “has not worked on a pension system for decades”. A worker in Spain already has to keep working at least until he is 65 and is not asked to work any longer. Instead, the new agreement puts more burden on employers for higher paid workers.
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Associated Press contributors include Barbara Sark of Nice, Elaine Ganley of Paris, Angela Charlton, Jeffrey Schaefer, Nicholas Garriga, Marcia McPherson and Alex Turnbull.
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