French president Emmanuel Macron doesn’t seem to be too concerned about his country’s parliament or the concerns of his people.
Yesterday, Macron used his special constitutional powers to push his plan to raise the retirement age to 64 from 62 through the lower house of parliament. The plans were passed in France’s senate on Thursday morning but had been due for a vote in the national assembly the lower house, where its approval was not guaranteed. So, it appears Macron thought he would speed up the process.
The pensions overhaul has been met with widespread protests and strikes across France, with the issue seen as extremely contentious in the European nation of 68 million people. Opposition politicians are now likely to request a vote of no confidence in the government, which they must do within days.
Both Marine Le Pen’s right-wing national rally and the left-wing France Ubowed party have said they will do so.