paris: President Emmanuel Macron's unpopular pension reforms can now become law after lawmakers in France's National Assembly defeated two no-confidence motions on Monday.
The first motion, brought forth by a centrist coalition with significant Leftist support, received 278 votes in favour of censurating the government, falling just nine votes short of the necessary 287. Only 94 people voted in favour of a second motion put forth by the right-wing National Rally party.
Olivier Marleix, the chief of the majority Republicans party, decided to commit his faction to backing the government and recognising what he named "the need for a reform to save our pension plan and defend retirees' buying power," even as a handful of party members defected to back the first no-confidence motion.
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Vice-president of the party Agnes Evren previously pledged that only five Republican MPs would vote against Macron's reforms, far fewer than the 30 needed to defeat the pension reform. Over the weekend, a number of lawmakers came forward to say they had received death threats from neighbours hoping to influence their votes on Monday's motions.
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Both proposals were presented on Friday after Macron's administration forcibly passed the unpopular pension reforms, which were opposed by two-thirds of French voters, by avoiding a vote in the National Assembly.
By 2030, the proposal would raise retirement age from 62 to 64 and increase the number of years of employment necessary to qualify for a full pension at retirement from 40 to 43.
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While the reforms were approved by the Senate last week, Macron claimed there was "too much uncertainty" about their support in the lower house to leave it up to chance.
As a result, he used a legal technicality to avoid the vote, a move that union leaders blasted as "a complete denial of democracy." In the days that followed, there were riots and violent protests all over the country, and various strikes were called.