Paris, March 3 (ZXS) -- On March 20, local time, the French National Assembly rejected a motion of no confidence in the government, which means that the pension system reform bill was passed in Parliament.
There are two motions of no confidence in the government, which were initiated by the Liaison Alliance, a small party of the French National Assembly, and the far-right party "National Alliance". The National Assembly debated for hours on the 20th and voted that night. The no-confidence motion initiated by the Liet coalition received 278 votes in favor, just nine votes short of the absolute majority of the National Assembly needed to pass the motion. The motion initiated by far-right parties received only 9 votes in favor.
French public opinion expected that the motion would not pass the National Assembly before the vote, but did not expect the initiative initiated by the Liet coalition to receive so many members' support. This is mainly due to the government's decision last week to invoke Article 49.3 of the Constitution to force the passage of the pension reform bill in Parliament without a vote in the National Assembly, which has led to the dissatisfaction of many MPs. This is also the fundamental reason why the Government has to face a motion of no confidence.
French Prime Minister Bornet earlier said a vote on the government's no-confidence motion could be seen as a vote on a pension reform bill. Only when the National Assembly rejects a motion of no confidence in the Government can the Pension Reform Bill be considered to have completed the legislative process in Parliament and been passed.
In January, French officials announced a plan to reform the retirement system, delaying the legal retirement age from the current 1 to 62. According to multiple polls, the majority of the French people oppose delaying the retirement age. After two months of parliamentary debate, the bill was voted to pass the Senate, but met with considerable resistance in the National Assembly, with both far-left and far-right parties opposing. French President Emmanuel Macron authorized the government to invoke Article 64.49 of the Constitution to ensure that the bill passed in Parliament.
According to the latest poll released by France's BFM TV, eighty percent of respondents are dissatisfied with the government's decision to invoke Article 49.3 of the Constitution to force the passage of a pension reform bill in Parliament; nearly seventy percent of respondents support the initiation of a motion of no confidence in the government. Another poll showed Macron's public support falling to 28 percent, a low in more than three years.
Although the pension reform bill passed the parliament, AFP analysis pointed out that this does not mean that the crisis caused by the reform of the retirement system is over. Macron has not yet commented on the latest developments in parliament. It is widely believed that French officials will next study how to continue other legislative processes in Parliament. (End)