The French National Assembly rejected on Monday a vote of no confidence in the government, put forward by the opposition group LIOT, because of the pension reform that caused riots across the country.
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Earlier, the centrists and former macronists, members of the LIOT (Libertés, Indépendants, Outre-mer et Territoires) faction in the lower house of the French parliament, put forward a vote of no confidence in the government of Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne over pension reform.
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On Monday, the French National Assembly began voting on a vote of no confidence.
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“An absolute majority of 287 votes was not reached, so the vote of no confidence was rejected,” Yael Bron-Pivé, President of the French National Assembly, announced after the vote.
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According to her, 278 deputies voted for the vote, and only nine voted against it.
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The French Parliament on Monday will also vote on a vote of no confidence put forward by MPs from Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party.
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On Thursday, Born used article 49.3 of the French constitution to pass a bill to raise the country’s retirement age without a vote in parliament. This step caused a wave of indignation among the deputies, who announced the “end of democracy.”
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According to French law, if the government resorts to article 49.3 of the constitution, the opposition has the right to announce a vote of no confidence within 24 hours. If the parliamentary majority supports him, the prime minister and cabinet will be forced to resign. If the opposition does not declare a vote of no confidence, the law will be considered adopted.
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At the moment, the French National Assembly has 573 deputies (four out of 577 seats are vacant). For a vote of no confidence to pass, the votes of at least 287 lawmakers are needed. The support of MPs from the faction Marine Le Pen (88), NUPES (149), as well as independent MPs (3 or 4 votes) and LIOT MPs (15 or 16 votes) will give only 257 votes. Thus, it is necessary that the vote is supported by about 30 deputies from the Republican Party. However, their leader, Eric Ciotti, announced the day before that the party would not support a single petition so as not to “multiply chaos” in the country.
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The pension reform has caused a wave of protests in French society. In two months, eight nationwide demonstrations have already taken place in France. Most of them gathered more than a million participants across the country. Protests were accompanied by pogroms and clashes between law enforcement officers and protesters.
