France lives this Monday a new day of political drama. Two motions of no confidence in the Government must be voted in the National Assembly this afternoon as a result of the approval by decree, on Thursday of last week, of the unpopular pension reform. Although it is very unlikely that the Executive will fall, the vote could be tighter than expected, revealing the loneliness of President Emmanuel Macron and exacerbating discontent on the street.
The motion presented by the National Rally (RN, extreme right) is a pure formality and will probably only receive the support of parliamentarians from Marine Le Pen’s party. The other, raised by a centrist group called Libertads, Independientes, Ultramar y Territorios (LIOT), has a transversal vocation and will be supported by the radical left, the RN and a minority sector of Los Republicanos (LR, traditional right).
Between ten and fifteen LR deputies can vote for no confidence, disobeying their leader, Éric Ciotti, who promised “not to add more chaos to chaos.” Aurélien Pradié, who opted for the leadership of the party a few months ago and was temporarily its number two, announced that he would support LIOT’s motion, “as a patriot”, to cause “an electric shock” to the Government and show his rejection of its anti-democratic methods.
The session in the National Assembly takes place at a time of great tension in the country, with daily spontaneous demonstrations in the main cities, clashes with riot police, strikes and blockades. The transport of fuel has been interrupted due to the blockade of the refineries, which threatens the supply of the gas stations. Another national day of strikes and mobilizations is called for this Thursday.
The macronista deputies and the conservatives are the target of threats and intimidating acts so that they do not support the Government. Ciotti’s offices in Nice were attacked on the night from Saturday to Sunday. Some unknown persons smashed the windows of the headquarters and made a graffiti that read “The motion and the cobblestone”.
Macron’s popularity has fallen because of the two-year delay in the retirement age, from 62 to 64, a move two-thirds of French people oppose. According to the monthly poll by Le Journal du Dimanche, which has not yet included the impact of the approval of the reform by decree, discontent with the president’s management reaches 70%, four points more than in the previous poll.
In Paris, municipal services have begun to collect garbage, due to the order of the prefecture, but it is going slowly and it will take many days until the situation returns to normal.
