Emmanuel Macron’s government survives, but more trouble lies ahead
Protests against his pension reform may spread
BY A WAFER-THIN margin of just nine votes, the French government survived a no-confidence vote on March 20th, opening the way for its controversial pension reform to be written into law. The result in the National Assembly was far narrower than many had expected, and reflects a level of political discontent that is unlikely to dissipate. The immediate political crisis for President Emmanuel Macron may be over, but popular unrest could yet spread.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Breathing space”
Europe March 25th 2023
From the March 25th 2023 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionDiscover more
Emmanuel Macron shows off the gloriously restored Notre Dame
Five years after it was gutted by fire, the cathedral is more beautiful than ever
Ursula von der Leyen has a new doctrine for handling the hard right
The boss of the European Commission embarks on a second term
Marine Le Pen spooks the bond markets
She threatens to bring down the French government, but also faces a possible ban from politics
The maths of Europe’s military black hole
It needs to spend to defend, but voters may balk
Ukraine’s warriors brace for a Kremlin surge in the south
Vladimir Putin’s war machine is pushing harder and crushing Ukrainian morale
Vladimir Putin fires a new missile to amplify his nuclear threats
The attack on Ukraine is part of a new era of missile warfare