French President Emmanuel Macron’s government on Monday narrowly survived two no-confidence motions in the parliament. The nation’s 577 National Assembly rejected the motion brought by the centrist LIOT coalition by a very narrow margin. 278 MPs voted in favour of the tripartisan bill — nine less than the 287 needed for the motion to succeed.
A second no-confidence motion, tabled by the far-right National Rally (RN), also failed, gathering only 94 votes.
Watch | France: Protests continue over pension reforms, garbage collectors extend strike
The result comes as a relief for Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne and President Macron. A successful no-confidence vote would have sunk the government and would have killed the deeply unpopular legislation which seeks to raise the retirement age by two years to 64.
However, the relief could prove to be short-lived. As per Reuters, unions and protestors have vowed to carry on strikes and protests which in recent days have rocked the European nation.
Lawmakers from the hard left La France Insoumise (LFI, France Unbowed) were heard shouting “Resign!” at Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne. They also brandished placards that read: “We’ll meet in the streets,” reports Reuters.
The pension reform has severely affected President Emmanuel Macron’s personal ratings, bringing them to their lowest levels since the height of the 2019 protests. A survey on Sunday showed that Macron’s approval ratings have tanked to a low, with only 28 per cent of the respondents viewing him in a positive light.
A new round of protests, as per AFP, has been called across France on Thursday. These protests are expected to affect France’s public transport severely, once again bringing it to a standstill. Government insiders and observers have raised fears that France may once again be heading towards a bout of anti-government protests like the “Yellow Vest” ones that hit the nation from 2018 to 2019.
(With inputs from agencies)
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