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      Opponents of raising the French retirement age by two years chant at Place de la Concorde in Paris, France on on March 17, 2023.

      'Macron Resign!' French Protests Intensify Over Attempt to Force Retirement Age Hike

      "This forced passage with the use of Article 49.3 must be met with a response in line with this show of contempt toward the people," declared one union leader as MPs introduced no-confidence motions.

      Jessica Corbett
      Mar 17, 2023

      Protests in Paris and across France have ramped up since President Emmanuel Macron's government on Thursday used a controversial constitutional measure to force through a pension reform plan without a National Assembly vote.

      Fears that the Senate-approved measure—which would raise the retirement age from 62 to 64—did not have enough support to pass the lower house of Parliament led to a Council of Ministers meeting, during which Macron reportedly said that "my political interest would have been to submit to a vote… But I consider that the financial, economic risks are too great at this stage."

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      Protesters participate in a demonstration against the French government's plan to raise the retirement age in front of the National Assembly in Paris, on March 16, 2023.

      Enraging Workers, Macron Bypasses Parliament With 'Nuclear Option' on Retirement Age Hike

      "What the government is doing makes people sick of politics. It should improve people's lives, not destroy them," said Rachel Keke, a leftist in France's National Assembly.

      Jessica Corbett
      Mar 16, 2023

      Amid protests against French President Emmanuel Macron's unpopular plan to overhaul the country's pension system, his government on Thursday chose the "nuclear option," opting to use a constitutional procedure to force through reforms, including raising the retirement age from 62 to 64, without a vote in the lower house of Parliament.

      While the proposal passed the Senate, the upper chamber of Parliament, 193-114 Thursday morning, "reports indicated that the ruling party, which lost its overall majority in elections last year, was a handful of votes short" in the National Assembly, which led to an emergency Council of Ministers meeting about triggering Article 49.3, Le Mondeexplained.

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      Paris protest

      Nearly 1 Million March Against 'Unjust and Brutal' Plan to Raise French Pension Age

      "I don't want my parents to die at work," one Paris protester's placard pleaded.

      Brett Wilkins
      Feb 12, 2023

      Nearly a million people took to the streets of cities across France on Saturday during the fourth round of nationwide protests against President Emmanuel Macron's plan to raise the country's pension eligibility age from 62 to 64.

      The French Interior Ministry said an estimated 963,000 protesters rallied in Paris, Marseilles, Nantes, Nice, Toulouse, and other cities and towns large and small for the fourth straight day of demonstrations, Agence France-Pressereports.

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