President Emmanuel Macron’s unpopular pension reform brought hundreds of thousands of French people to the streets. It is assumed that the government will push through the law, even without a parliamentary vote.
22:26•Updated 22:47
the president of France Emmanuel Macron The government’s pension reform has caused people to protest again on Wednesday.
There have been almost half a million people on the streets in Paris and maybe 800,000 protesters in the whole country.
Protesters and police clashed at least in Paris.
The unpopular pension reform would raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.
There have been protests against the pension reform for two months already. According to opinion polls, the majority of French people oppose the reform.
Street demonstrations have been quelled with various strikes, work stoppages and other measures. For example, in Paris, garbage drivers have been on strike since last week.
In the capital, there was a strong sense of waste.
Voting on Thursday
The joint committee of the Senate and the National Assembly prepared the last legal version of the pension reform on Wednesday.
On Thursday, the bill will be voted on first in the Senate and then it is scheduled to be voted on by the National Assembly, i.e. the French Parliament.
The law will easily pass the Senate, but its passage in the National Assembly is more uncertain. President Macron needs the support of the conservative Republicans party from the opposition.
If there is not enough support, it is believed that the French government will use a procedure where the bill will eventually be passed by the National Assembly vote.
Regardless of how the bill went in the National Assembly, the protests are expected to continue in France after Thursday as well.