The French government and Macron’s pension overhaul survive a vote of no confidence. Here is the latest.

President Emmanuel Macron’s government survived a crucial no-confidence vote in the lower house of the French parliament on Monday after his decision to impose a change to the national retirement age sparked the most intense political unrest since his re-election. Last year.

Because the motion failed, his pension bill, including a provision to raise the statutory retirement age from 62 to 64, will now become law.

Had the vote of no confidence passed, Mr Macron would have become just the second French president since 1958 to have his cabinet overthrown by lawmakers, and he would have faced four more years in office as a wounded lame duck. A second no-confidence motion, tabled by the far-right National Rally, also failed, with just 94 lawmakers voting in favour.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Lawmakers in the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, debated two no-confidence motions. One was proposed by independent lawmakers and backed by an alliance of opposition parties, and another was tabled by the far-right National Rally.

• The first motion received 278 votes, nine short of the 287 needed to pass. Nineteen traditional conservative Republican lawmakers voted in favor of the no-confidence motion, far more than expected. The second motion of no confidence received only 94 votes in favour.

• The tight result reflected widespread anger at the overhaul of the pensions law, at Mr Macron for his apparent distance and at the way the measure was passed in Parliament last week without a full vote on the bill. himself. The upper house of the French parliament, the Senate, passed the pensions bill this month.

• By raising the retirement age, Mr. Macron has called into question a pillar of the social protection system dear to France. The French leader said the change was necessary to increase the competitiveness of the French economy and bring it more in line with its European partners.

• The logic of the reform, at a time when people are living longer and most European states have raised the retirement age to 65 or more, has not convinced many French people fiercely attached to the balance between professional and private life in the country. Opponents of Mr Macron argue that the French pension system is not in immediate danger of insolvency and accuse him of not considering other methods.

• Even though lawmakers have rejected no-confidence motions, protesters have vowed to keep fighting, and Mr Macron could face even more vilification on the streets of France. The demonstrators have vowed to continue protesting. Since Mr Macron used a constitutional provision last week without a full parliamentary vote, spontaneous and sometimes violent protests have erupted across the country. The protests have raised fears of wider unrest such as that seen four years ago in the Yellow Vests movement that forced the government to repeal a disputed fuel tax.

Constant Meheut contributed report.