The French government has survived a vote of no-confidence, narrowly avoiding the need to name a new government or call for new elections.
The vote was triggered after the government pushed through an increase in the retirement age to 64, which sparked new anti-government protests in Paris and around the country.
The first no-confidence motion, tabled by centrist MPs, had 278 votes in favor, falling short of the 287 votes needed.
A second motion, tabled by Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party, also did not pass. Now that both votes have failed, the controversial bill to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 will become law.
The bill was pushed through without a vote last week using a special constitutional power, called Article 49:3, by Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne. This move sparked angry protests over the weekend, with some demonstrators clashing with police and blocking streets with debris fires in central Paris and other cities.
Fresh protests erupted in the capital after the failed votes, with a tense standoff between protesters and anti-riot police.
Opposition MPs held up signs protesting against the government’s pension age increase after the no-confidence vote.
The first motion, which had the backing of several left-wing parties including the Green Party and the Socialist Party, was the only one likely to succeed. When that vote failed, members of the left-wing contingent that voted for it held placards reading “continue” and “we’ll meet in the streets” and shouted that the prime minister should resign.
