Macron gives TV interview amid growing anger over pension reform
Issuance of: change:
French President Emmanuel Macron will give a television interview on Wednesday, his office announced. The government fended off two no-confidence votes in parliament on Monday night, sparking angry protests in Paris and other cities.
Macron’s government used constitutional measures to adopt reforms to lower the retirement age from 62 to 64, but no vote was held in the lower house of parliament, citing angry protesters’ claims of a ‘denial of democracy’ caused
His office said he will answer live questions by journalists from stations TF1 and France 2 at 1pm (1200 GMT) on Wednesday. Last week it was pushed through without a vote.
On Monday, the government survived two no-confidence motions submitted by opposition groups, one of which was defeated by just nine votes in the 577-seat National Assembly.
Even if the reforms were officially adopted on Tuesday, they are unlikely to ease the biggest domestic crisis since Mr Macron’s re-election last year.
More than 100 people were arrested in Paris alone on Monday night in tense confrontations between protesters and security forces, police said.
Similar scenes were reported in other French cities, including Dijon and Strasbourg, with demonstrators breaking department store windows, according to a correspondent for the French news agency AFP.
President Macron to meet with Prime Minister Elizabeth Bourne On Tuesday, the Speaker of Congress, Yael Brown Pivett of his centrist Renaissance party, and the right-wing Speaker of the Senate, Gerald Lurcher.
His office said he was scheduled to meet with Renaissance lawmakers in the evening, and opponents said protests would follow.
decision
‘Nothing weakens workers’ determination’: Hard line CGT the union said.
A new round of strikes and protests is called for on Thursday, and public transport is expected to stop again in some areas.
Garbage collectors are also on strike in Paris and several other cities, piling up unsightly and unhygienic rubbish in the French capital.
The government said on Tuesday it would requisition workers at a fuel depot in Fos-sur-Mer, near the southern city of Marseille, as petrol stations across the country began to dry up during a strike by refinery workers.
The far right, meanwhile, expects to appeal to the Constitutional Council.
Born said she already asked constitutional council To check the law while the left-wing opposition is asking the courts to hold a referendum on the issue.
Macron’s election victory over the far right and the appointment of France’s second female prime minister, Borne’s future remains in doubt after failing to secure a parliamentary majority for reform.
Low ratings in polls
Government insiders and observers have expressed concern that France is heading again for violent anti-government protests.yellow vestmovement shook the country in 2018-2019.
A poll on Sunday showed Mr Macron’s personal rating at its lowest level since the height of the 2019 yellow vest protests, with just 28% of respondents having a positive view of him. rice field.
President Macron has argued that pension changes are necessary to avoid fiscal deficits in the coming decades linked to France’s aging population.
Opponents of the reform say it places an undue burden on low-income earners, women and those working in exhausting jobs.
Polls consistently show that two-thirds of French people oppose the change.
(with AFP)
https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20230321-macron-to-give-television-interview-as-anger-simmers-over-pension-reform Macron gives TV interview amid growing anger over pension reform
