Macron’s Way Over La Liberté?

© Sputnik / Ted RallMacron v. The People
Macron v. The People - Sputnik International, 1920, 17.03.2023
Subscribe
The bill will gradually raise the retirement age of those in France from 62 to 64. Macron has argued that the reform plan will keep France’s pension system from plunging into a deficit, as France now faces longer life expectancies and lower birth rates like many other rich nations.
A controversial bill which raises the retirement age for those in France has been pushed through by President Emmanuel Macron, who invoked his special powers (article 49.3 of the constitution) to urge Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne to avoid a vote by lawmakers in the National Assembly’s lower house on Thursday.
The decision to forgo a vote caused an uproar in the French parliament. As the prime minister approached the podium in the National Assembly, left-wing members began to boo and shout and even sang lines from the French national anthem “La Marseillaise.”
Borne spoke over the cries, saying: “This reform is necessary. I am committed to our social model, and this reform is the result of a compromise that the legislators of both houses of Parliament agreed to.”
France’s public also broke out in outrage, with protesters lighting small fires and clashing with police who donned riot gear at the Place de la Concorde in central Paris. About 7,000 people were believed to be rioting against a bill that had already garnered unpopularity and mass protesting from the French public for weeks.
Macron reportedly made the decision to invoke the special power just minutes before the scheduled vote, after he realized there was no guarantee of securing a favorable outcome for his bill. Marine Le Pen, a far-right nationalist said she would file a no-confidence motion to revoke the bill, while Fabien Roussel, a Communist lawmaker, agreed that the bill should be “suspended”.
Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала