Pension reform: National Assembly rejects cross-party vote of no confidence

This vote was highly anticipated by the executive branch. Elizabeth Bourne is facing two no-confidence votes this Monday afternoon after she turned to 49.3 for passing pension reform without a vote.

Meeting from 4 p.m., the National Assembly rejected Lyot’s group’s proposal, paving the way for final adoption of the pension reform, despite domestic anger unabated. Lyot’s movement (“Freedoms, Independent Overseas Territories and Territories”), signed by Nupes deputies, had a better chance of being voted by right-wing elected representatives who did not support this reform, but the bar of an absolute majority of 287 votes was too high. hard to achieve even if it didn’t get very far except for 9 votes.

Strongly opposed to the reform, Aurélien Pradier said in the morning that he would vote for Lyot’s text, which would cause an “electric shock” to the government.

Macron’s call for further reforms

Shortly before this vote, Elizabeth Bourne invited several ministers to lunch at Matignon, in the words of an executive branch adviser, to show that the latter “support” the prime minister, who has been in office since May 16. “I think, I hope that the government will continue to govern under the leadership of Elisabeth Bourne,” Transport Minister Clement Bon commented on FranceInfo on Monday morning. “She can and should stay. (…) She is a politician, a political leader that we need in the coming months at the head of the French government,” he added.

From Thursday, organized or spontaneous gatherings take place throughout the territory, calmly or with overflows. This Monday morning, several demonstrations again caused traffic to slow down, in particular in Rennes, and some disturbances were reported by the RATP and SNCF. The strike has intensified at the refineries, and garbage collectors continue to move in Paris, Rennes or Nantes.

Universities are also afraid of work stoppages on the part of managers, on the first day of exams in the bachelor’s degree in 2023. In case of a delay due to a transport strike, the exam time may be adjusted. The prime minister’s use of the constitutional weapon 49.3 on Thursday to pass the reform without a vote only fueled the protest, which often goes beyond the topic of raising the retirement age from 62 to 64.

Faced with this situation, Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday that the reform “can reach the end of its democratic path with respect for all.” The President recalled “months of political and social consultations” and “more than 170 hours of debate culminating in a vote on a compromise text” between senators and deputies in the joint committee.