Macron to Push Through Pension Reform Without Lower House Vote

(Bloomberg) -- The French government will push through a controversial pension reform without a vote in the lower house of Parliament, and force an end to weeks of discussions that have been marred by delaying tactics by some opposition lawmakers, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said.

The decision by President Emmanuel Macron’s government comes ahead of municipal elections next month. Strikes and protests of public sector transport workers against the pension reform at the turn of the year have largely died down.

The prime minister’s decision to use a Constitutional provision to end further debate means the draft reform will move to the Senate as opposition parties have no chance to vote out the government in the lower house.

The government plan to replace 42 different pension regimes with a single, points-based system, was part of Macron’s pledge during his 2017 presidential campaign to overhaul taxes, labor laws and the welfare system.

To contact the reporter on this story: Francois de Beaupuy in Paris at fdebeaupuy@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Herron at jherron9@bloomberg.net, Andrew Davis, Steve Geimann

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