LIVE – Pension reform: update on the situation this Friday, March 17
After the triggering of 49.3 decided by Emmanuel Macron on the pension reform, the government must deal with a worsening of the political crisis. The oppositions will file, this Friday before 3:20 p.m., motions of censure. LFI has already announced that it is behind the motion of the Independents in the National Assembly.
On the social front, union leaders warn against possible “excesses”. While anger is brewing in the country, with several thousand demonstrators who gathered in several cities yesterday, the press castigated Macron’s “failure” and “weakness” this morning.
Information to remember
> Opposition MPs have until 3:20 p.m. to table a motion of censure
> The press castigates Macron’s “failure” and “weakness”
> Aurore Bergé asks to protect the deputies of the majority
» The main news for this Friday, March 17
7:58 a.m. – LFI withdraws its motion of censure in favor of the motion of the LIOT group
Jean-Luc Mélenchon confirmed, this Friday morning on France Inter, that the LFI deputies withdrew their own motion of censure in favor of that tabled by the deputies of the Freedoms, Independents, Overseas and Territories (LIOT) group. “We have decided to give the greatest possible chances to censorship,” argued the Insoumis leader and former deputy.
7:45 a.m. – Members of the CGT block the North ring road
Several members of the CGT Paris block the ring road at Porte de Clignancourt, in Paris, according to information from BFMTV.
7:28 a.m. – Chronology of an impossible pension reform
From the presidential election, Emmanuel Macron had promised to postpone the legal retirement age to 64 or 65 years. The Head of State and his government, led by Elisabeth Borne, then dithered over the method and the messages sent to public opinion hostile to the reform. Story of what has become an obstacle course.
7:12 a.m.: Opposition MPs have until 3:20 p.m. to table a motion of censure
After the triggering of 49.3 decided by Emmanuel Macron on the pension reform, the government must deal with a political crisis: the oppositions will file, this Friday, motions of censure. They have until 3:20 p.m. to do so.
6:04 am: The press castigates Macron’s “failure” and “weakness”
“Admission of weakness”, “failure”, “trousers”. The French press unanimously castigates the use of article 49.3 to pass the pension reform, and points the finger at Emmanuel Macron for the political and social crisis that threatens.
The international press is not to be outdone, emphasizing, like the “New York Times”, that “the conflict over pensions reveals a weakened and more isolated Macron”, or “Die Zeit”, according to which “this reform will weigh heavily on the country for a long time”.
» The highlights of Thursday
> The police evacuated the Place de la Concorde
The police intervened Thursday evening on the Place de la Concorde, in the heart of Paris. They dispersed the thousands of demonstrators hostile to the pension reform who had gathered there in the afternoon, noted AFP journalists.
> Aurore Bergé asks to protect the deputies of the majority
The patroness of the Renaissance deputies, Aurore Bergé, asked Thursday evening the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin to “mobilize the services of the State” for the “protection of parliamentarians” of the majority, targeted by opponents of the pension reform.
> Damage and violence in Rennes and Nantes
Violent demonstrations broke out on Thursday evening in Rennes and Nantes, including mortar fire at the police, AFP journalists noted, a few hours after the government announced the use of article 49.3 to reform pensions.
