Photo: APDespite the protests, the French Senate adopted President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform plan, the Assembly is waiting. Even if Macron's government fails to muster a majority, Article 49/3 could be invoked and the law passed without a vote
The French Senate adopted President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform plan on Saturday night, March 11, by 195 votes to 112.
During that time, there have been protests on the streets of the country for the seventh day caused by this change in the law, according to which the retirement age is raised by two years, to 64 years.
The package of measures passed by the Senate is another step closer to becoming law.
French Prime Minister Elizabeth Bourne said after the vote that she believes the government has the parliamentary majority to turn this package of reforms into law.
If, however, Macron's government fails to muster the necessary majority, Bourne could use a rarely used and highly controversial constitutional power, known as Article 49/3, to push the law through without a vote.
Tensions rose in the evening, during the vote, and Paris police said they had arrested 32 people after some protesters threw objects at security forces, set fire to containers and broke windows.
Before that, on Tuesday, the last big day of strikes and protests, the turnout was just under 1,3 million people according to police estimates, and more than three million according to the unions.
Macron twice this week rejected urgent calls from unions to meet with him in a last-ditch effort to get him to change his mind.
"It made the unions very angry," said Philippe Martínez, head of the CGT union.
"When millions of people take to the streets and all we get on the other side is silence, people ask: what else do we need to do to be heard," he added.
Several sectors of the French economy were affected by the strike, including rail and air transport, power plants, natural gas terminals and garbage collection, which began piling up in some neighborhoods of the capital, with airlines canceling about 20 percent of flights scheduled at French airports. .
A public opinion poll published by BFMTV on Saturday showed that 63 percent of French people approve of protests against the reform, and 54 percent are also in favor of strikes and blockades in some sectors.
However, 78 percent said they believed Macron would eventually pass the reform.
A new protest is scheduled for Wednesday.
S.Ć./Danas
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