French President Emmanuel Macron’s government is set to face two no-confidence motions in parliament on Monday over an unpopular pension reform that has sparked violent protests and political uproar.
Macron’s allies are in a minority in the lower house National Assembly, meaning they could be defeated if the opposition unites in sufficient numbers for one of the ballots, which are set for debate from 4 pm (1500 GMT).
A decision to force the pension legislation through the lower-house National Assembly without a vote last Thursday sparked protests over the weekend, calls for more strikes and outrage about a manoeuvre widely seen as undemocratic.
Bringing the government down was “the only way of stopping the social and political crisis in this country,” Charles de Courson, the author of one of the two no-confidence votes and France’s longest-serving MP, told France Inter radio on Monday.
“If we continue like this, no one will control anything. That’s what all the trade union leaders are telling us… that they’re seeing things becoming more radical,” he said.
Government insiders and observers have raised fears that France is again heading for another bout of violent anti-government protests, only a few years after the “Yellow Vest” movement shook Macron’s government and the country.
After a weekend that featured violent clashes in Paris, bins were set alight on a highway in Rennes, northwest France, on Monday morning.
Most analysts expect the government to survive on Monday, thanks to backing from the right-wing opposition Republicans party that controls 61 seats.
But the margin could be tight after a senior Republican lawmaker, Aurelien Pradie, said he would vote against the government because “I think it’s the only way out. We need to move on to something else.”
