France: As President Emmanuel Macron’s government narrowly avoided a no-confidence vote in parliament on Monday over a wildly unpopular pension reform, protesters set stacks of trash on fire in the heart of Paris on Monday. Macron will be relieved that the no-confidence motion was unsuccessful. If it had been successful, it would have brought down his government and prevented the law from passing that would have raised the retirement age to 64 by two years.
Police use tear gas and briefly charge at protestors
Firefighters raced to put out flaming trash mounds that had been left uncollected for days owing to strikes as demonstrators and police engaged in a cat-and-mouse game in some of Paris’ most famous avenues. A reporter witnessed police use tear gas and briefly charge at protestors earlier on Thursday after the no-confidence vote narrowly failed to receive enough support to pass. Unions and opposition groups declared they will intensify protests in an effort to compel a change of heart.
No-confidence motion had failed
Unexpectedly narrow margins existed in the vote on the tripartite motion of no confidence. It received support from 278 MPs, only nine short of the 287 needed for it to pass. Opponents claim that this demonstrates how Macron’s choice to forgo a parliamentary vote on the pension measure, which sparked the motions of no confidence, has already harmed his reformist programme and his ability to lead. The hard left La France Insoumise (LFI, France Unbowed) party’s parliamentarians yelled “Resign!” at Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and waved signs that said “We’ll gather in the streets” as soon as it was revealed that the no-confidence motion had failed.The leader of the LFI parliamentary group, Mathilde Panot, told reporters that nothing had been resolved and that her group will keep up its efforts to push this reform back.
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Conflicts occur over the pension reform
About 200 to 300 protesters mainly young people, gathered in Bordeaux, in the southwest, to protest the reform and yelled, “Macron, resign!” The crowd chanted, “This will blow up,” as they set a few trash cans on fire. Conflicts occur over the pension reform that happened over the past three nights in Paris and across the nation have reminded many people of the Yellow Vest rallies that broke out in late 2018 over excessive fuel costs. On Thursday, there will be a ninth day of strikes and protests around the country.
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