Macron Uses Loophole to Pass Retirement Age Rise

The government of French President Emmanuel Macron was thrown into chaos on Thursday after it used a controversial constitutional loophole to pass his widely contested bill to raise the retirement age after it was doubtful that the legislation would secure a majority vote in the National Assembly.

Thousands of people immediately took to the streets and leftist leaders and union chiefs have already called for mass demonstrations over the weekend after French Prime Minster Elisabeth Borne took to the floor of the National Assembly — amid shouts of “resign” from opposition MPs — to invoke article 49.3 of the constitution, a mechanism often described as the “nuclear option” in French legislative politics, as it allows the government to pass bills without the need for a majority vote.