French parliament speaker vows to block pension law repeal attempt

The representative of the far-left France Unbowed party Mathilde Panot announced on Wednesday that her group will file a no confidence motion against the government. This, after the speaker of France's parliament said she would block an attempt to repeal a recent law raising the retirement age to 64.

National Assembly speaker Yael Braun-Pivet, who is from President Emmanuel Macron's party, but is officially neutral, confirmed she would reject the bid to introduce new legislation on constitutional grounds, a move that has infuriated its backers.

Speaking to BFM television, she said an amendment proposed by the small Liot faction in parliament and backed by left-wing parties would be declared "inadmissible".

"I'm applying the rules and nothing but the rules," she added.

She was alluding to Article 40 of the constitution which bans legislative proposals from MPs that would add a burden to the public finances.

Reversing the increase in the retirement age to 64 from 62, the key measure of Macron's hard-fought pension reform, would add billions to government spending.

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The Liot group called the speaker's decision to block its proposal "an unprecedented attack on the rights of parliament".

"By announcing that there would be no vote tomorrow (Thursday), Yaël Braun-Pivet is admitting that the government is afraid", the far-left France Unbowed (LFI) MP Mathilde Panot said on Wednesday, adding she no longer felt Braun-Pivet was able to guarantee the "separation of powers".

"Obviously we will table a vote of no confidence because it is unacceptable that such a coup can be made without there being a reaction to it," Panot told journalists, without specifying the details.

The president of the socialist group Boris Vallaud said working groups would be set up, while Bertrand Pancher, president of the Liot deputies said they will decide their plan of attack later this evening.

'Scandalous'

Opponents of the pension reform had seen Liot's parliamentary manoeuvre as their last hope of thwarting the changes, having previously tried and failed with an appeal to the country's constitutional court.

Observers said the minority government risked losing a vote on the Liot legislation, however, with left-wing parties, the far right and some centre-right MPs prepared to vote against the executive.

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"There has never been a vote, the power has always prevented it, it's scandalous," far-right MP Sébastien Chenu (RN) told the press.

"I will no longer go to meetings", warned the head of the socialist party Olivier Faure. "I'm not going to continue to play the puppet with people who take me for an idiot".

(with AFP)