The French government is set to face two no-confidence motions amid a spate of street protests, strikes and road blockades by disgruntled citizens against President Emmanuel Macron's decision to push through pension reforms that many French disagree with. "The Guardian".

The no-confidence vote will take place this afternoon amid heightened tension on the streets, following clashes between protesters and police in Paris over the weekend. Roadblocks and demonstrations at roundabouts have already begun this morning in some parts of France, including outside Nantes and Lorient. In Rennes, bins were set on fire on the highway and cars were stopped.

# Rennes #PensionReforms Ils l'avaient promis. The demonstrators blocked the ring road at the porte d'Angers, near the Poterie pic.twitter.com/5c1ED6JqTc

— Actu Rennes (@Rennes24) March 20, 2023

The no-confidence motions were called in protest against the Government using controversial executive powers to raise the pension age from 62 to 64.

Macron decided last week that the government would use Article 49.3 of the Constitution to bypass parliament because it feared it could not muster enough votes. Macron's centrist coalition lost its absolute majority in parliament in elections last June.

Toppling the government with a no-confidence vote was "the only way to stop the social and political crisis in this country", said Charles de Courson, France's longest-serving lawmaker and a member of the small opposition centrist group Liot, who authored one of the no-confidence motions. .

"If we continue like this, nobody will control anything. That's what all the union leaders are telling us ... that they see things becoming more radical," he told France Inter radio.

The other proposal was put forward by Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally party.

Most analysts expect the government to survive both votes. This is because a motion of no confidence would require an absolute majority of 287 MPs. Achieving that goal will require the support of a large number of MPs from the right-wing Les Républiques party. This is seen as unlikely after their party leader, Eric Ciotti, said a vote in favor of the proposals would cause "chaos" in France.

France enjoys a relatively low retirement age

The change in the retirement limit has been in preparation for years, it was postponed several times due to the sharp reaction of the population.

Such a change is planned to be finalized by 2030. Other developed countries around the world have also been in the process of raising the retirement age of their public pensions, but most have gone much further than France plans. The Netherlands, Spain, Germany and the United States (via the Social Security Administration) are approaching their common new retirement age of 67. The latest cohorts eligible for the standard pension from 1 January 2023 are now between 65 years and 11 months and 66 years and 10 months in these countries. The new retirement age of 67 for the new eligible cohorts will be reached between 2024 and 2030. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom will begin raising the age limit to 67 between 2026 and 2028, while Belgium will raise the minimum retirement age to 66 between 2025 and 2037.

In addition to the age requirement, countries also apply a minimum length of working life for a person to retire on a standard pension. Exceptions are sometimes made for people who mostly exceed the working life requirement before the minimum retirement age. In most countries, it is also possible to retire at an earlier age and accept deductions. Different rules apply to occupational pensions, basic pensions, individual pension accounts and of course private pensions.

Countries that have been more timid in raising the retirement age include Canada, where plans to raise it beyond 65 have been scrapped, and Switzerland, which is still considering further increases. However, the retirement age will be 65 for both sexes starting in 2025 in the country. Sweden raised the retirement age to 63 from 62 this year and may raise it again as life expectancy increases.