(Central News Agency) The French parliament held a cabinet vote of no confidence today. The government narrowly won by 9 votes, and the unpopular pension reform bill was almost passed.

Although the cabinet and the bill were kept, the legitimacy of the government was greatly shaken, and the opposition was furious and vowed to fight to the end.

Faced with the French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne’s announcement in the National Assembly on the 16th to use Article 49.3 of the Constitution to force the passage of the retirement system reform bill, the opposition party proposed a no-confidence motion in accordance with the law in an attempt to counteract it, and voted today, which received cross-party support The motion was defeated by 9 votes, and the opposition party failed to overthrow the government and withdraw the bill as it wished.

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According to the constitution, passing a no-confidence motion requires a majority of votes in the National Assembly, or 287 votes, and the center party group "Liberty, Independence, Overseas and Local" (Liot) proposed a motion supported by left-wing, even some right-wing and extreme-right parliamentarians. 278 votes.

The withdrawal reform bill, which aims to extend the statutory retirement age from 62 to 64, has aroused dissatisfaction among most French people. Although it survived the crisis by a small margin, some MPs still believe that Bernard's credibility and support have been severely damaged.

"The prime minister should obviously resign with her reforms," ​​Mathilde Panot, head of the far-left Independence France (LFI) National Assembly group, told the media.

A no-confidence motion by the far-right National League (RN) received only 94 votes, and the retirement system reform bill can almost be considered as passed after failing to overthrow the cabinet.

After the vote, Bernard wrote on Twitter: "We have completed this democratic process of reforms of great importance to the country. With humility and gratitude, I have done my duty and that of the government."

Labor Minister Olivier Dussopt, who is in charge of the bill, celebrated the passage of the reform on Twitter, "We are focusing on the implementation of the bill and seeking the best conditions for policyholders."

Left-wing politicians, including Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure, have unanimously called for the bill to be withdrawn and threatened to "continue the fight".

Fauer claims that President Emmanuel Macron has created a social and political crisis that "paralyzes the country and isolates the president".

Opposition far-right leader Marlene

Marine Le Pen demanded "a new government", "If Macron does not do this, the crisis will not be resolved".

She wants to take the most direct route to democracy, a referendum.

Aurelien Pradie, one of the few right-wing Republicans (LR) MPs who supported the no-confidence motion, pointed out that "there is clearly a problem of legitimacy for the government today" and that without repealing the bill "you cannot rebuild the social, political Dialogue with Democracy".

The French trade union CGT said in a press release that the defeat of the no-confidence vote "will not weaken the resolve of workers" and called for "intensified mobilization", that is, large-scale long-term strikes and demonstrations.

On the 23rd, France will hold the ninth national mobilization of the anti-year reform movement since the end of January.

Anger over the bill and the way the government proceeded continued to rage.

Spontaneous demonstrations took place in major cities in France at night.

Protesters poured into the streets of Paris, singing slogans while marching; a large number of police stood on guard and dispersed the demonstrators with pepper spray, and conflicts were imminent.

Calling a referendum has also been a way for some MPs to fight the back and reform bill over the past few weeks, with the opposition launching a final avenue today.

Before the vote in the National Assembly, the chairman of the National Assembly, Yael Braun-Pivet, announced that he had submitted a request for a "co-sponsored referendum" proposed by the Communist Party to the Constitutional Committee reviewing the constitutionality of the bill. age".

After receiving the support of 1/5 of the members of both houses of Congress, it will be reviewed by the Constitutional Committee within one month from now; then it must be signed by 1/10 of the voters within 9 months, that is, 4.87 million people.

But embarrassingly, because Article 11 of the Constitution stipulates that co-sponsored referendums "shall not attempt to revoke a bill that has been in force for less than one year," time is running out. If the Constitutional Council cannot complete the review before the bill goes on the road, the referendum cannot be launched.

The government retained its seat and withdrew the reform bill by 9 votes, but this disastrous victory left scars that cannot be ignored for the ruling party.

"The government will almost always be saddled with illegitimacy," one ruling party MP bitterly confessed to Le Figaro newspaper; another said, "The gap is too small to ensure future progress. We are already in Discuss Bernard's resignation."

(Editor: Chen Yanjun) 1120321