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Macron does not give in and seeks to impose his harsh pension reform

Macron does not give in and seeks to impose his harsh pension reform

It is that the opposition has already issued two motions of no confidencewhich will determine the future of the government of Macron. The measure even generates divergences within the ruling party, given the eventual responsibility of approving a measure of this type, with the consequent political cost.

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THERMOMETER. Paris was the French city that yesterday hosted the largest mobilization against the liberal government’s pension reform, but the rejection of it unifies most of France.

Macron does not give in and challenges his own and others

The French prime minister aspires to raise the retirement age of 62 to 64 years and increase to 43 the years of contribution necessary to receive a full pension, a measure that has generated a wave of protests in the country.

After weeks of mobilizations in the streets, the This week, the government used a constitutional provision, through article 49.3 of the Constitution, that allows circumventing the parliamentary vote to approve the reform.

After this controversial maneuver, deputies from opposition forces presented two motions of censure against the government and thousands of protesters took to the streets again in various cities of the country.

Macron’s government lacks an absolute majority in the National Assembly, the lower house, although its deputies form the first block. For a motion of no confidence to be approved, it is necessary for the entire opposition to unite.

“It will be the moment of truth. Is the pension reform worth the fall of the government and political disorder? The answer is clearly no”declared the Minister of Economy, Bruno Le Maire, in the newspaper Le Parisien.

The Minister of Labour, Olivier Dussopttrusts that there will not be a union between the opponents of the left, the right and the extreme right around a motion of censure, so they will fail.

“To do this, he would have to gather a coalition of the ‘opposites’, of the ‘anti’, to obtain a very heterogeneous majority without a common political line,” he opined in the Journal du dimanche newspaper, once again defending a reform designed, according to him, to save the “retirement system”.

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Photo: REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes.

What will the debate be like in the National Assembly?

The approval of any of the motions of no confidence would annul the presidential decree and force the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, to present her resignation.

The government affirms that the reform is necessary to avoid deepening the deficit in the coming decades in which France faces an aging population.

But critics say the reform places an unfair burden on low-wage workers, women and people with physically demanding jobs.

The left-wing opposition seeks to project itself beyond Monday to prevent the protests from losing weight in the event that the motions of censure fail.

“The fight will continue regardless of the result,” Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leftist leader of the La France Insoumisa party, told the RTL radio station.

Criticism from the extreme right to the left

“I will never say that we must stop demonstrating, as long as the 64-year-old reform continues to be proposed, we must continue,” he insisted. The unions have called a ninth day of protests and strikes for Thursday.

Regardless of Monday’s result, the executive has already been affected. Attention is focused on the vote for the right-wing party Los Republicanos. Their leader, Eric Ciottialready announced that he will not vote on the motion of no confidence, so his ranks are expected to follow him.

Ciotti denounced on his Twitter account that his headquarters were vandalized with stones and stated that “he will not give in to the new disciples of Terror.”

Strikes and protests across France

Other pro-reform parliamentarians were also targeted, illustrating the tension in the country. Until now, the strikes had only prevented the output of fuel from the refineriesbut they have not succeeded in completely paralyzing operations.

The mobilization has also affected garbage collection in various neighborhoods of Paris, where some 10,000 tons of waste accumulate.

The largest refinery in the country, located in Normandy (northwest) and operated by TotalEnergies, has begun to paralyze its production. Other plants could follow.

Source: Ambito

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