French govt survives key votes over pensions overhaul

PARIS — Parliament adopted a divisive pension bill on Monday raising the retirement age in France from 62 to 64, after lawmakers in the lower chamber rejected two no-confidence votes against the government.

But the bill pushed through by President Emmanuel Macron without lawmakers' approval still faces a review by the Constitutional Council before it can be signed into law, The Associated Press reported.

The first multiparty motion, filed by the centrist opposition group LIOT, gained 278 votes among the deputies, only nine votes short of the 287 required to topple Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne's government.

The second motion, tabled by the far-right National Rally party, only got 94 votes.

The National Assembly is composed of 577 seats. But since there are currently four vacancies, the number of votes required to reach a majority is 287.

Yael Braun-Pivet, speaker of the National Assembly, said the failure of both votes means parliament has adopted the pension bill.

Yet, this is not the end of the complex path to turning the bill into law. Opponents said they would ask the Constitutional Council to review the text before it is formally promulgated, opening the door to the possible rejection of articles within the measure if they are not in line with the constitution. But the council usually approves articles. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen said she would ask the council to censure it.

Macron was scheduled to meet with Borne and the leaders of his centrist alliance on Tuesday. He was expected to address the nation on Wednesday, Reuters reported.

Tensions in the political arena have been echoed on the streets, marked by intermittent protests and strikes in various sectors, including transportation, energy and sanitation. Garbage in Paris has piled higher than ever and reeked of rotting food on the 15th day of the strike by collectors. The three main incinerators have been mostly blocked.

On Monday, hundreds of mainly young protesters gathered by Les Invalides to demonstrate against pension reform.

"The goal is to support the workers on strike in Paris… to put pressure on this government that wants to pass this unjust, brutal and useless and ineffective law," said Kamel Brahmi of the CGT union, speaking to workers at the Romainville sorting plant.

Borne laid out details of the pension reform plan in January, under which the legal retirement age would be progressively raised by three months a year from 62 to 64 by 2030, and a guaranteed minimum pension would be introduced.

Paris police said on Tuesday that 234 people were arrested overnight in the capital mostly for setting fire to garbage on the streets.

Agencies - Xinhua