Yemisi Izuora
France is facing unprecedented labour protests over the country’s controversial pension reforms.
French President Emmanuel Macron narrowly survived a no-confidence vote on Monday (March 20) in the National Assembly, less than a week after his government forced through an unpopular pension reform bill that raised the French retirement age from 62 to 64.
Protests and labor strikes have engulfed France in recent weeks, with major figures on both the left and right criticizing Macron’s decision to push through the pension reform by invoking Article 49.3, a controversial part of the French constitution that allows the government to pass legislation without a parliamentary vote.
However, Article 49.3 also allowed lawmakers to table a no-confidence vote immediately afterward, setting up the current political crisis for Macron.
While the current government has seen several unsuccessful no-confidence votes since Macron’s Renaissance party lost its majority in parliament last year, this motion was the first to have broad bipartisan support on the opposition ranks, with far-right leader Marine Le Pen announcing her support for the motion, originally called by the left-wing Nupes coalition.
Still, as expected, the unlikely alliance was unable to find enough support from the conservative Les Républicains party, which was founded in 2015 by former French president Nicolas Sarkozy. It sided with Macron, deciding the vote.
Éric Ciotti, the leader of the party, had instructed his MPs to vote against the motion, citing the potential for further disruptions, citing the protests held in the past few days opposing the reform.
“They want through violence to put pressure on my vote…I will never yield to the new disciples of the Terror,” Ciotti said, after his constituency office in Nice was destroyed by protestors over the weekend, referring to the period of French history, following the 1789 revolution, in which those perceived to be opposing the new regime were arrested or executed.
Still, 20 Les Républicains, or about one-third of the members, voted against Macron, a larger number than expected. All told, 278 of the French parliament’s 577-member assembly voted against Macron, which was 9 votes short of the necessary majority. A second no-confidence vote, called by Le Pen’s far-right Rassemblement National (National Rally) party, also failed with just 94 votes in favor.
Despite Macron’s victory in parliament, a nationwide day of strikes and protests has been planned for Thursday (March 23) by a coalition of left-wing labor groups that are likely to continue to exert pressure on his administration.
Part of his initial presidential campaign’s platform, Macron sees the reform Bill as necessary to ensure the financial health of the country’s pension system, especially considering France’s aging population. The number of French people over 85 years old is expected to rise by 90 per cent between 2030 and 2050. The Bill would also be a signature achievement for Macron’s centrist political strategy.
Opposition figures like Philippe Martinez, the head of France’s oldest labor union, have accused Macron of throwing blue-collar workers under the bus. Martinez has called for the retirement age to be lowered to 60, funded by higher taxes on corporations and the rich.
Macron tried to overhaul the pension plan with a Bill in 2019, prompting massive demonstrations and one of the largest transit strikes in French history. The plan was postponed by the covid-19 pandemic.
France has among the most generous retirement benefits in the world, including one of the lowest retirement ages–in most other EU Countries, it is 65 or higher, and it is 67 in the US. In 2010, the French government raised the retirement age from 60 to 62, leading to similar protests and strikes.