President Emmanuel Macron’s government narrowly survived a no-confidence motion in parliament yesterday over a deeply unpopular pension reform, but strikes and protests will continue, in a major challenge to his authority.
The failure of the no-confidence vote will be a relief to Macron. Had it succeeded, it would have sunk his government and killed the legislation, which is set to raise the retirement age by two years to 64.
But the relief could be short-lived. For one thing, unions and opposition parties said they would step up protests to try and force a u-turn.
In addition, the vote on the tripartisan, no-confidence motion was closer than expected. Some 278 MPs backed it, just nine short of the 287 needed for it to succeed.
Opponents say this shows that Macron’s decision to bypass a parliamentary vote on the pension bill – which triggered the no-confidence motions – has already undermined his reformist agenda and weakened his leadership.
As soon as the failure of the no-confidence vote was announced, legislators from the hard left La France Insoumise (LFI, France Unbowed) shouted “Resign!” at Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and brandished placards that read: “We’ll meet in the streets.”
“Nothing is solved, we’ll continue to do all we can so this reform is pulled back,” LFI parliamentary group chief Mathilde Panot said.
There were boos at a rally in central Paris after the vote result and chants of “strikes” and “blockade.”
A Reuters reporter saw police fire tear gas and briefly charge at protesters, before things quietened down.
In the southwestern city of Bordeaux, about 200-300 people, mostly youngsters, gathered against the reform and chanted: “Macron, resign!” A couple of trash bins were lit on fire as the crowd chanted: “This will blow up.”
Over the past three nights, clashes over the pension reform, in Paris and throughout the country, have been reminiscent of the Yellow Vest protests that erupted in late 2018 over high fuel prices.
A ninth nationwide day of strikes and protests is scheduled on Thursday.
A second motion of no confidence, tabled by the far-right National Rally, also failed, after it gathered only 94 votes. Other opposition parties said they would not vote for it.
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