by The Prime Minister has already confirmed that she will force approval of this pension boost without a vote in Parliament
The President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, approved his reform of the pension system without going through the National Assembly, using an article of the Constitution that allows it.
Until the last minute, Emmanuel Macron believed it was possible to pass the reform, one of the pillars of his mandate, through a semi-circle vote, but without a guaranteed majority in the National Assembly, he forced the approval of the law when there were just 12 minutes left for the start of the session of the Parliament.
The decision did not go down well with opposition MPs, who announced they would table several no-confidence motions in the next 48 hours, one of which would unite right-wing MPs in other parties and could jeopardize Prime Minister Elizabeth Bourne’s government.
According to Reuters, the prime minister has already confirmed that she will force approval of this pension boost without a vote in parliament. As she prepared to make a statement in parliament, Elisabeth Borne was met with boos from the opposition, who held signs with words such as “Not at 64”, in a hint of raising the retirement age.
“The Prime Minister […] She is doing this because she is convinced that this reform is necessary to guarantee the future of our pension system,” said a councilor from Borne.
The reform had been approved in the morning by the Senate, with 193 votes in favor and 113 votes against, with the right and centrists forming a significant majority, although there were senators from these two camps who abstained and voted against.
Among the most controversial articles of this new law is the increase in the retirement age to 64 or 43 years of deductions, but also the end of the existing special regimes for workers in transport, energy or even the Bank of France, as well as the adoption of a special contract to promote the employment of people over 60 years of age.
Unions were present outside the Bourbon Palace, with the general secretary of the CGT, one of the largest unions in France, saying workers “will not let this issue die”.
A meeting between the 11 unions that have been united since January against this reform will announce and decide whether the strikes will continue or not. Since the beginning of the year, there have been eight days of general strike in the country.
