The French National Assembly was several votes short of a vote of no confidence in the government on pension reform
In the French National Assembly, most of the deputies did not vote for the proposal of the opposition group LIOT to pass a vote of no confidence in the current government because of its pension reform. The news about raising the retirement age, and even without the consent of Parliament, caused a wave of mass protests in France.
Representatives of the centrists and former supporters of President Emmanuel Macron, who are part of the LIOT (Libertés, Indépendants, Outre-mer et Territoires) faction in the lower house of the French parliament, called for a vote of no confidence in the government of Prime Minister Elisabeth Born due to pension reform, but the majority of parliamentarians did not support this initiative. 278 deputies voted for the vote of no confidence, but 9 people voted against, and thus, it was not possible to get the required number of 287 votes.
French parliamentarians consider the actions of the government, which did not coordinate the pension reform with the deputies, an attack on the foundations of democracy. The government invoked article 49.3 of the French constitution to pass a bill to raise the retirement age. If the Cabinet of Ministers resorts to this article, then the opposition has the right to announce a vote of no confidence within 24 hours, and if the vote is supported by the majority of MPs, the government must resign.
At the same time, the French media note that the gap between the number of votes required for a vote of no confidence and the number of those who voted is not so large. Therefore, in the foreseeable future, we can expect further actions of opposition-minded deputies against the government. In the wake of mass protests that began in French cities, the opposition has a great chance to remove the government of Elizabeth Born. The current situation also affects the political positions of the President of the country, Emmanuel Macron.
- emphasizes the French publication Politique, referring to the words of one of the deputies of the French parliament.
Protests against pension reform are taking place in France in parallel with protests against military aid to Ukraine. The French rightly wonder why, if there is no money for pensioners, the country's government spends billions of euros on armaments and sends colossal military and financial assistance to Ukraine. The French are also irritated by the policy of anti-Russian sanctions, thanks to which Europe is faced with an energy crisis and food price inflation.
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