French MPS revolt over Macron pension policy
Decision to deny MPS vote on reform leads to violent protests in the street and a revolt in parliament
French opposition MPS filed a noconfidence motion yesterday against Emmanuel Macron’s government after it rammed a pension reform plan through parliament without a vote, in a move they said was “dangerous to our democracy”. Bertrand Pancher, head of the so-called Liot group, whose motion was co-signed by members of the broad Left-wing NUPES coalition, said: “The vote on this motion will allow us to get out of a political crisis.”
‘The plan for pension reform has neither social, nor popular, nor democratic legitimacy’
‘The legacy will be a very damaged relationship between the French public and the president’
FRENCH opposition MPS filed a noconfidence motion yesterday against Emmanuel Macron’s government after it rammed a pension reform plan through parliament without a vote in a move they said was “dangerous to our democracy”.
Bertrand Pancher, head of the socalled Liot group, whose motion was co-signed by members of the broad Left-wing NUPES coalition, said: “The vote on this motion will allow us to get out of a deep political crisis,”
Marine Le Pen’s hard-right National Rally party also said it would support the no-confidence vote. “This pension reform project has neither social legitimacy, nor popular legitimacy, nor democratic legitimacy,” wrote the MPS.
More than 300 arrests were made following violence on Thursday night that raised fears of France returning to the chaos of the Yellow Vest revolt of 2018.
The no-confidence motion will be debated tomorrow and could be put to a vote on Monday. If it passes, the pension reform will fall along with the prime minister and government.
Mr Macron could also dissolve parliament and call snap elections, an unlikely outcome as his Renaissance group risks losing even more MPS.
Although Mr Macron lost his absolute majority in the lower house of parliament in elections last year, the chances of a no-confidence vote succeeding remain slim unless a surprise alliance of MPS from all sides is formed, from the hard-left to the hard-right. The leaders of the conservative Les Republicains (LR) party – who are kingmakers – have ruled out such an alliance.
Individual LR lawmakers said they would break ranks but, to succeed, the no-confidence bill would require all of the other opposition MPS and half of the LR members to vote for it, which is a tall order.
After promising to allow MPS to vote on his unpopular pension reform – which seeks to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030 – Mr Macron enacted a humiliating climbdown on Thursday by driving the legislation through without a parliamentary ballot via a “nuclear” article in the French constitution called 49.3.
Elisabeth Borne, his prime minister, was booed by the opposition who called on her to resign and said the move was a denial of parliamentary democracy.
More than eight out of 10 people are unhappy with the government’s decision to skip a vote in parliament, and 65 per cent want strikes and protests to continue, a Toluna Harris Interactive poll for RTL radio showed.
In an ominous sign of rising anger, protesters in central Dijon, Burgundy, last night burned effigies of the centrist French president, along with one of the prime minister.
Meanwhile, Gérald Darmanin, the interior minister, received a request to provide protection to MPS who backed the pension reform because of threats.
At a rail strike protest at the Gare de Lyon in Paris yesterday, Daniel Terlynck of the moderate union, Unsaferroviaire, said the conclusion to Mr Macron’s refusal to put the reform to a vote was that he only made concessions when faced with radical action.
“Through its stubbornness, the government is exposing itself to an explosion of violence. We warned them. We regret it but the only time it caved in – and handed over €13 billion – was when faced with Yellow Vest violence,” he said.
More demonstrations were planned for last night and over the weekend and a fresh day of mass strike rallies slated for next Thursday.
Jean-luc Mélenchon, the hard-left France Unbowed leader, said:. “Spontaneous mobilisations took place throughout the country. It goes without saying that I encourage them.”
Even if the government survives a no-confidence vote, political analysts said it would be a “Pyrrhic victory” for Mr Macron.
“The legacy will be a very damaged relationship between the French public and the president,” warned Stephane Zumsteeg, head of polling in France for the Ipsos public opinion group.
Commentators were scathing of Mr Macron’s tactics, saying he faced the prospect of being a lame duck for the rest of his presidency.