PARIS, March 17 — French President Emmanuel Macron’s government on Thursday rammed a controversial pension reform through parliament without a vote, sparking angry protests in...
PARIS, March 17 — French President Emmanuel Macron’s government on Thursday rammed a controversial pension reform through parliament without a vote, sparking angry protests in Paris and other cities as well as tumult in the legislature.
“We can’t take the risk of seeing 175 hours of parliamentary debate come to nothing,” Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne told MPs as she announced the move amid jeers and boos from opposition MPs who also sang the national anthem. At around 8:00pm , police used tear gas and water cannon to clear protesters away after a fire was lit in the centre of the square, close to an Egyptian obelisk that has stood there for close to 200 years.Even after the rally was dispersed, some protesters created fires and caused damage to shop fronts in side streets, AFP reporters said.
Some opposition parties including Le Pen’s are set to call a no-confidence vote in the centrist government on Friday, but Borne’s cabinet is expected to survive, thanks to backing from the right-wing Republicans party. Opinion polls showed that roughly eight out of 10 people opposed legislating in this way, while a growing number of people were losing faith in French democracy, he said.After trying and failing to push through a pension reform during his first term, Macron returned to the issue while campaigning for re-election last April.Despite the day of high drama, Macron made no public comment on the matter Thursday.
A rolling strike by municipal garbage collectors in Paris has also seen around 7,000 tonnes of uncollected trash pile up in the streets, attracting rats and dismaying tourists.
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