Updated on 03/20/2023 at 7:36 PM
The French government narrowly escaped a vote of no confidence in the National Assembly, thus pushing a controversial pension reform.
After months of wrangling, it was decided by the president
278 deputies withdrew their confidence in the centrist government under President Emmanuel Macron in the first vote Monday evening, Parliament Speaker Yael Braun-Biveh announced. However, the necessary absolute majority of 287 votes was not achieved. In the second, the right-wing nationalists came up with it, and there were 94 deputies.
An impending hole in the pension fund
Last Thursday, after weeks of heated debate, both houses of parliament were due to finally vote on the reform. The Senate approved the project. However, the green light from the National Assembly, where the government does not have an absolute majority, seemed uncertain. So I decided at the last minute to cancel the reform with a special article in the constitution without the vote of the National Assembly. Then the opposition submitted two motions of no confidence.
Also read: Numerous arrests during protests against pension reforms in France
Previously, the retirement age in France was 62 years. In fact, retirement starts later on average: those who haven’t been paid wages long enough to get a full pension work longer. At age 67, there’s a no-deduction pension, no matter how long you’ve paid it – the government wants to keep this, even if the number of years you have to pay for a full pension increases more quickly. You want to raise the minimum monthly pension to around 1,200 euros. With the reform, the government wants to close an imminent gap in the pension fund. (afp / dpa)