French government to trigger special procedure to adopt pension bill without vote - BFM

If confirmed, the move, using the so-called article 49.3 of the constitution, will ensure the bill raising the retirement age by two years to 64 is adopted, but would show President Emmanuel Macron and his government failed to garner enough of a majority in parliament. Resorting to the measure is likely to further enrage unions, protestors and left-wing opposition parties that say that pension overhaul is unfair and unnecessary.

The French government will trigger a special constitutional procedure to push its unpopular pension reform bill through the National Assembly without a vote, BFM TV said on Thursday.

The government did not immediately reply to a request for comment. If confirmed, the move, using the so-called article 49.3 of the constitution, will ensure the bill raising the retirement age by two years to 64 is adopted, but would show President Emmanuel Macron and his government failed to garner enough of a majority in parliament.

Resorting to the measure is likely to further enrage unions, protestors and left-wing opposition parties that say that pension overhaul is unfair and unnecessary. Socialist Party head Olivier Faure told Reuters earlier on Thursday that such a move could unleash "an uncontrollable anger" after weeks of rolling strikes and protests.

Opposition parties are likely to request a vote of no confidence in the government, however that is unlikely to pass as most conservative lawmakers would likely back the government. Macron and his government say that the raising the retirement age is necessary to get the pension system out of the red by the end of the decade.

His failure to get the pension overhaul passed by a majority in parliament is not only a serious blow to his reformist credentials, but it risks destroying much of his political capital for the rest of his second mandate, which runs until 2027.