French President Macron faces confidence vote

The move comes after weeks of protests over pension reforms that sparked three nights of unrest and demonstrations in Paris and across the country, with hundreds arrested, reminiscent of the 'Yellow Vest' protests that erupted in late 2018 over high fuel prices.

Protesters smash windows of a building. Photo: GI

Opposition lawmakers submitted two no-confidence motions to parliament on Friday. The Liot group proposed a cross-party no-confidence motion, co-signed by the far-left Nupes coalition. Hours later, France's far-right National Rally, which has 88 members of the French parliament, also submitted a no-confidence motion.

However, leaders of the conservative Les Republicains (LR) party have ruled out such a coalition. None of them supported the confidence motion submitted on Friday.

President Macron's pension overhaul raised the pension age by two years to 64, which his government said was necessary to ensure the system did not collapse.

Even if the government survives a no-confidence vote on Monday, a broad coalition of France's main unions says it will continue to campaign to try to push through changes.

Laurent Berger, leader of the moderate CFDT labor union, told France's Liberation newspaper that the pension reform was "not a failure, it was a shipwreck" for Mr Macron's government.

Philippe Martinez, leader of the left-wing CGT labour union, told BFM television that he condemned the violence but it was "Macron's responsibility if the level of anger is too high".

Macron's approval rating has dropped four points over the past month to 28%, its lowest level since the Yellow Vest crisis, according to an IFOP-Journal du Dimanche poll.

Strikes at the country's oil refineries continued over the weekend, raising concerns about potential fuel shortages.

Rene-Jean Souquet-Grumey, an official with the Mobilians petrol station federation, told Franceinfo radio on Sunday that about 4% of French petrol stations were experiencing supply disruptions.

"I don't think there will be a majority to bring down the government. But this will be the moment of truth," Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told Le Parisien, commenting on the prospects of Monday's vote.

Mai Anh (according to Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/tong-thong-phap-macron-doi-mat-voi-bo-phieu-tin-nhiem-vi-cai-cach-luong-huu-post239961.html