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BumRushDaShow

(127,344 posts)
Mon Mar 20, 2023, 02:08 PM Mar 2023

Protesters set rubbish on fire as French govt barely survives no-confidence vote

Last edited Mon Mar 20, 2023, 06:46 PM - Edit history (3)

Source: Reuters

PARIS, March 20 (Reuters) - Protesters set piles of rubbish on fire in central Paris on Monday after President Emmanuel Macron's government narrowly survived a no-confidence motion in parliament on Monday over a deeply unpopular pension reform.

The failure of the no-confidence vote will be a relief to Macron. Had it succeeded, it would have sunk his government and killed the legislation, which is set to raise the retirement age by two years to 64. But the relief proved short-lived.

In some of Paris' most prestigious avenues, firefighters scrambled to put out burning rubbish piles left uncollected for days due to strikes as protesters played cat-and-mouse with police. Earlier on Thursday, a Reuters reporter saw police fire tear gas and briefly charge at protesters after the no-confidence vote barely fell short of enough votes to pass.

Unions and opposition parties said they would step up protests to try and force a u-turn. The vote on the tripartisan, no-confidence motion was closer than expected. Some 278 MPs backed it, just nine short of the 287 needed for it to succeed.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/macrons-government-faces-moment-truth-over-pension-system-overhaul-2023-03-20/



Article updated.

Previous articles/headlines -

French govt narrowly survives no-confidence vote but faces more challenges

PARIS, March 20 (Reuters) - President Emmanuel Macron's government narrowly survived a no-confidence motion in parliament on Monday over a deeply unpopular pension reform, but strikes and protests will continue, in a major challenge to his authority.

The failure of the no-confidence vote will be a relief to Macron. Had it succeeded, it would have sunk his government and killed the legislation, which is set to raise the retirement age by two years to 64. But the relief could be short-lived.

For one thing, unions and opposition parties said they would step up protests to try and force a u-turn. In addition, the vote on the tripartisan, no-confidence motion was closer than expected. Some 278 MPs backed it, just nine short of the 287 needed for it to succeed.

Opponents say this shows that Macron's decision to bypass a parliamentary vote on the pension bill - which triggered the no confidence motions - has already undermined his reformist agenda and weakened his leadership. As soon as the failure of the no-confidence vote was announced, lawmakers from the hard left La France Insoumise (LFI, France Unbowed) shouted "Resign!" at Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and brandished placards that read: "We'll meet in the streets."



PARIS, March 20 (Reuters) - President Emmanuel Macron's government narrowly survived a no-confidence motion in the National Assembly on Monday, after bypassing the lower house to push through a deeply unpopular change to the pension system.

The outcome will be a relief to Macron: a successful no-confidence vote would have sunk his government and killed the legislation, which is set to raise the retirement age by two years to 64. But the relief could be short-lived.

For one thing, the vote was closer than expected. Some 278 MPs voted in favour of the tripartisan, no-confidence motion, just nine short of the 287 needed for it to succeed. In addition, unions and protesters have vowed to carry on with strikes and protests against the pension reform.

Observers say Macron's failure to find enough support in parliament to put his pension proposals to a vote has already undermined his reformist agenda and weakened his leadership. As soon as the narrow failure of the vote was announced, lawmakers from the hard left La France Insoumise (LFI, France Unbowed) shouted "Resign!" at Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and brandished placards that read: "We'll meet in the streets."


Original article -

PARIS, March 20 (Reuters) - President Emmanuel Macron's government narrowly survived a no confidence motion in the National Assembly on Monday, after bypassing the lower house to push through a deeply unpopular change to the pension system.

Some 278 MPs voted in favour of a tripartisan, no confidence motion tabled by a centrist party and others, just nine short of the 287 needed for it to succeed. The outcome will be a relief to Macron, because a successful no-confidence vote would have sunk the government and killed the legislation, which is set to raise the retirement age by two years to 64.

But he still faces significant headwinds. For one thing, the centrist president's failure to find enough support in parliament to put his pension reform to a vote has undermined his reformist agenda and weakened his leadership.

Barclays analysts said the government would remain in place, "although it would be significantly weakened, while social protests against the reform would likely continue for some weeks, which could negatively affect the French economy."
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Protesters set rubbish on fire as French govt barely survives no-confidence vote (Original Post) BumRushDaShow Mar 2023 OP
A difficult problem Old Crank Mar 2023 #1
Considering the complexity of the situation rpannier Mar 2023 #2

Old Crank

(3,387 posts)
1. A difficult problem
Mon Mar 20, 2023, 04:22 PM
Mar 2023

Macron hasn't been able to sell this reform. He has managed to make some changes in French pensions, including portability which are good. Rail road people are fully pensioned at around 55 I believe.

THe problems with the system is the same issues we have in teh US. Life expectancy has gone up. The French are living about 10 years longer than they did in 1980. That puts exteme pressure on funding mechanisms. So how do you cover the 15 billion per year defficit that will occur by 2030 if nothing is done?

Three main ways:
1: raise the retirement age. Unpopular
2: increase tax to cover the added years. Unpopular
3: cut bennefits. Unpopular

Or some combination of the three.

One option for the first could be strenghtening of disability payments for people who can't work the extra years so that they are covered under disability until the full retirement age. Create a system which allows earlier retirement for people in physically demanding jobs. (what a bureaucracy that would be)

There aren't any really good choices and throwing temper tantrums isn't going to help the problem.

rpannier

(24,304 posts)
2. Considering the complexity of the situation
Mon Mar 20, 2023, 09:44 PM
Mar 2023

the way women, especially those who do choose to have children, get shafted
that he has found oodles of money for tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations
the incompetence in handling the situation by Neville Petain Macron; I mean nothing says "President of the Rich" like speaking to a bunch of rich people while the PM is announcing the government will by-pass the vote and then going into hiding
It's understandable why people are so angry
To those who dismiss the protests as tantrums, you're wrong

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