Prime Minister Elisabeth Bourne used a special procedure to pass legislation raising the pension age in France without a vote in the lower house of parliament. This reform is causing great emotions in the society. The French took to the streets again on Thursday against government measures.
After weeks of heated debates and social protests, the government in France adopted art. 49.3 of the Constitution and passed a law raising the retirement age by two years (to 64) without a referendum.
France raises retirement age. The Prime Minister follows a special procedure
When the French prime minister appeared in the National Assembly (the lower house of France’s parliament) on Thursday, he was greeted with cheers. At the start, Left MPs held placards reading “No to 64” as they sang the national anthem and blocked the announcement of the special procedure.
Later, the speech of the head of government was repeatedly interrupted by shouts. – We cannot risk the future of our pension, this reform was necessary – Bourne argued, explaining why it was decided to use Art. 49.3 of the Constitution.
President Emmanuel Macron And his government explains that the rise retirement ageo The system needs to recover from the crisis by the end of this decade.
A far-right leader Marine Leben He argues that Prime Minister Bourne should resign. “This last-minute resort to 49.3 is a sign of extreme weakness,” he said.
The French took to the streets
Thanks to the support of conservative party Les Republicains (LR) senators, as expected, the Senate (the upper house of the French parliament) gave the bill the green light this morning. As LR representatives are divided on this reform, the vote in the National Assembly could be quite different.
See: France: Massive protests against pension reform Almost a million people on the streets
According to a source who attended the meeting at the Elysee Palace shortly before the vote in the lower house of parliament, President Macron said “the financial and economic risk (of the rejected bill) is too great” and that is why he supports the proposal. to avoid voting.
The move by the government will fuel discontent among the French, who are already protesting the pension reform. The first demonstrators appeared on the streets of Paris after the prime minister announced a special procedure.
pgo/ml/Reuters
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