B142 people were arrested in the French capital Paris during violent protests following the passage of the controversial pension reform. Eleven police officers were injured on Tuesday night, the broadcaster BFMTV reported, citing police sources.
Among other things, some demonstrators would have set garbage cans on fire. Around 2,000 police officers were on duty in Paris alone. According to Franceinfo, there were also spontaneous demonstrations in other cities such as Saint-Étienne, Strasbourg, Amiens, Caen and Toulouse.
The reform to gradually raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 years was passed on Monday evening. It is considered one of President Emmanuel Macron’s most important projects. There have been repeated strikes and violent protests against the reform in France for weeks.
Government survives no-confidence vote
The government had previously survived two motions of no confidence. According to the official voting result, the first, cross-party motion was only nine votes short of an absolute majority, which would have resulted in the fall of the government. A second motion of no confidence brought by the right-wing populist Rassemblement National also failed.
The government was able to pass the reform in this way because it had enforced Article 49.3 of the Constitution. This provides that a law can be passed without a vote in Parliament if the government subsequently survives motions of no confidence.
The government could count on the votes of conservative Republicans. Of those, however, 19 MPs ultimately voted with the opposition for the cross-party motion.
According to a poll published on Monday, around two-thirds of French people had hoped the government would fall. The summary procedure enforced by the government had further fueled angry protests against the reform.
The reform pushed by President Macron provides, among other things, for gradually increasing the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030. In addition, the minimum pension is to be raised to 1,200 euros for a full contribution period and the employment of senior citizens is to be promoted. The project has been causing protests across France for weeks, which have also expressed displeasure with inflation, disenchantment with politics and growing rejection of the president.
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