Govt narrowly survives vote of no-confidence amidst deepening dissent
\n PARIS
\nDozens of people were arrested across France after sporadic protests broke out hours after President Emmanuel Macron\u2019s government narrowly survived a no-confidence motion in parliament on Monday over a deeply unpopular pension reform.
\nThe failure of the 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.
\nBut the anger was felt as protesters took to the streets in cities across the France, opposition lawmakers vowed to force a U-turn and unions prepared for nationwide action on Thursday.
\nIn some of central Paris\u2019 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 for a fifth night.
\nWhat may concern the executive is the large number of young people in the demonstrations.
\nTelevision images showed police briefly firing tear gas and charging at protesters in several towns with special motor bike officers seen striking out at protesters.
\nThat prompted the UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Association, Cl\u00e9ment Voule, to say in a Twitter post that police should avoid using excessive force.
\nThe vote on the tripartisan, no-confidence motion was closer than expected. Some 278 members of parliament backed it, just nine short of the 287 needed for it to succeed.
\n\u201cWe are coming to the end of the democratic process of this essential reform for our country,\u201d Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said. \u201cIt is with humility and seriousness that I took my responsibility and that of my government.\u201d
\nOpponents say this shows Macron\u2019s decision to bypass a parliamentary vote on the pension bill \u2014 which triggered the no- confidence motions \u2014 has already undermined his reformist agenda and weakened his leadership.
\nAll eyes now turn to the president who is due to speak to the nation on Wednesday afternoon, according to France Info radio.
\nMacron will hold talks later on Tuesday with Borne, the heads of both houses of parliament and lawmakers in his political camp as he seeks to plot an exit to the political crisis.
\nThe key question in coming days will be whether Macron sticks with his existing government as he looks to freshen things up even if the potential paralysis in parliament will make governing more complicated.
\n\u201cNothing is resolved and everything in the country continues so that this reform is withdrawn,\u201d Mathilde Panot, the parliamentary chief of the far-left La France Insoumise said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Govt narrowly survives vote of no-confidence amidst deepening dissent PARIS Dozens of people were arrested across France after sporadic protests broke out hours after President Emmanuel Macron\u2019s government narrowly survived a no-confidence motion in parliament on Monday over a deeply unpopular pension reform. The failure of the vote will be a relief to Macron. Had […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":320993,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-320983","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n