Emmanuel Macron’s government is safe: the “transpartisan” no-confidence motion proposed by the independent LIOT party and voted by all the oppositions to Elisabeth Borne’s executive failed to reach the minimum quota necessary to send the premier home for just 9 votes.
In the meantime, the pension reform that has aroused the wrath of Parliament and of many who have invaded Paris to protest becomes law. More demonstrators are rushing near the Invalides area after the outcome of the vote, several bins have already been set on fire and clashes have begun with the police, who had received orders to disperse the unauthorized protest.
“What could not be achieved with a normal parliamentary vote, we must achieve with protests, strikes, demonstrations,” said French radical left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, adding: “Now is the time to move on to popular distrust”. His collaborator Mathilde Panot explains: “These 9 narrow votes that are missing do not solve anything. The situation remains the same, we continue the mobilization until the withdrawal of this pension reform”.
The reform should enter into force on 1 September, but in the coming weeks the opposition will try to prevent this from happening. Among the parliamentarians, 250 signatures have already been collected to call a repeal referendum, while some have already announced an appeal to the Constitutional Council.
