She came out of yesterday’s ordeal seriously wounded, but alive National Assembly of France prime minister’s government Elizabeth Born. With a majority of just nine deputies, the House rejected a no-confidence vote from the opposition over the government’s decision to pass the controversial pension reform without a vote in parliament, by presidential decree.

The proposal was made by the centrist political group Lyot and was supported by the left-wing Nupes alliance, Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Anxiety party, and several “rebels” from the center-right Republican (LR) party, whose leadership was in favor of reform. In the decisive vote, 278 deputies voted in favor of the proposal, nine less than the absolute majority of the National Assembly, which has 577 elected representatives. The second vote of no confidence brought by the National Alert was, as expected, overwhelmingly defeated after only 94 deputies had voted.

If the National Assembly had voted for a vote of no confidence, the Social Security reform that raised the retirement age from 62 to 64 would have been automatically repealed. At the same time, this would be the end of the Born government, and Emmanuel Macron would be called upon to form a new government that could enjoy the confidence of parliament, which is almost impossible in the current conditions, or appeal to the people for a referendum, parliamentary or even presidential elections.

However, the fact that he avoided these adventures does not mean that by yesterday’s vote he was freed from the social and political crisis that has been tormenting the country for two months now. The latest polls show his popularity at 28%, and everyone in France admits that the president is facing the worst crisis since the 2018-2019 Yellow Vest uprising.

In all public opinion polls, the French consistently showed that the vast majority rejected the reform and were in favor of continuing strikes and demonstrations.

Heavy losses for the President of France from the retirement battle as social unrest continues.

Popular dissatisfaction turned into real anger at the government’s decision to apply article 49.3 of the constitution and introduce pensions by presidential decree after failing to win a parliamentary majority. This happened last Thursday, followed by three days and nights of blockades of major roads, burning of barricades, violent police intervention and arrests of hundreds of protesters. An Elabe poll shows that two-thirds of citizens want the fall of the Bourne government.

The scale of the popular reaction also affected the centre-right LR party, from which came two of Emmanuel Macron’s key ministers: Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and Interior Minister Géral Darmanin. Judging by the results of yesterday’s vote, 19 deputies of the party violated the official line and voted for the first vote of no confidence.

It should be noted that Marine Le Pen tried to lure potential defectors from LR, as she promised that her party would not field its own candidates in its constituencies in the next elections, whenever they took place.

Immediately after the announcement of yesterday’s results, left-wing parliamentarians put up posters in parliament reading “Resign – see you on the streets” and “RIP” – an acronym indicating their ability to push for a “mixed-initiative referendum” (supported by one-fifth of the National Assembly and one-tenth of citizens). At the same time, the opposition will pressure the Constitutional Council to declare the law unconstitutional, and the unions are pushing for strikes and demonstrations to continue until Macron is forced to repeal or amend the insurance law.

Trade unions insist

“Nothing changes and nothing will break the resolve of the workers.” With these words, the militant workers’ confederation CGT welcomed the results of yesterday’s vote in the National Assembly, calling for the continuation of strikes and demonstrations. But Laurent Berger, leader of the more moderate CFDT federation, said Macron’s pension reform was “not just a failure, it’s a wreck.”

Strikes at railroads and refineries have continued over the past three days, raising concerns about widespread fuel shortages at gas stations since April. Meanwhile, trash piles up on the streets of Paris as the cleaners are also on strike. In Rennes, activists who tried to block highways with burning barricades clashed with the police. The next stop is Thursday, which has been declared the ninth day of strike by unions since the controversial government bill was introduced. The French Civil Aviation Authority has warned passengers that there will be disruptions to air routes during the week.