French President Emmanuel Macron is facing fierce protests and accusations of anti-democratic behavior on Friday after approving a controversial reform of the pension system without a parliamentary vote.
According to Le Parisian310 people have already been arrested across the country, 258 of them in Paris.
The protests began on Thursday afternoon, the day the reform was approved. During the night, police had to act to disperse the thousands of demonstrators who had gathered in Praça da Concordia, in the heart of the capital, and prevent the crowd from reaching the National Assembly, with several blazes recorded.
chaos in france
Clashes between protesters and police are raging in Paris and elsewhere in France after Macron ordered pension reforms by decree without the approval of the French parliament. pic.twitter.com/migM4wp8YT
Alexander (@Alexand59517985) March 17, 2023
Similar scenes were observed in other cities of the country, namely Marseille, Nantes, Rennes and Lyon.
“I am outraged by what is happening. I feel that as a citizen I am being misled,” said Laure Cartelier, a 55-year-old teacher quoted by AFP. “In a democracy, this should have been done through a vote,” he added.
Using a special constitutional power to pass legislation without a vote is tantamount to admitting that the government lacked a majority to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, a change that was met with fierce opposition across the country.
Des milliers de personnes sur la Place de la #Agree current affairs #ReformDesRetraites #NonALaReformeDesRetraites @LucAuffret pour @LibreQg pic.twitter.com/X0mEVcAssR
– Free Media Headquarters (@LibreQg) March 16, 2023
“You cannot risk playing with the future of pensions, this reform is necessary,” said French Prime Minister Élisabeth Born, who stated that it was “out of responsibility” that the government resorted to Article 49.3 of the French constitution, which states that a law can be passed without going through the National Assembly (lower house of parliament).
Borne spoke this Thursday amid shouts and jeers from the opposition, with some deputies singing excerpts from France’s national anthem, “The Marseillaise”.
The decision to resort to the article instead of voting in parliamentary session was taken after a meeting between the French President, Emmanuel Macron, the Prime Minister and several ministers, faced with the lack of a clear majority in the National Assembly for reform.
The French Senate (upper house) had this Thursday morning approved the reform by 193 votes to 114, but indecision over the direction of the vote in the Assembly remained.
One of the most controversial articles of this new law is the increase of the retirement age to 64 or 43 years of reductions, but also the end of the existing special regimes for employees in transport, energy or even the Bank of France, as well as the adoption of a special contract to promote the employment of people over 60 years old.
Trains, schools, public services and ports have been hit by strikes against the proposed pension reform since January, with some of the largest protests recorded in decades.
Source: DN
