PARIS-President Emmanuel Macron has shunned the French Parliament and opted to push through a highly unpopular pension reform bill that would raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.
The French leader wants to raise the retirement age so workers put more money into the system, which the government says is on course to run a deficit. On Thursday, his administration used a special constitutional power amid calls for a no-confidence motion from the opposition – a move that is being met with protests in Paris.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne triggered a special procedure to push the bill through the National Assembly without a vote, provoking shouts and chants from left-wing lawmakers brandishing placards against the reform that read “No to 64 years”.
The move, using Article 49.3 of the French Constitution, will ensure the bill is adopted, but it shows Macron and his government failed to garner enough of a majority in parliament.

LYON; FRANCE: Protesters walk
during a demonstration in Lyon, central France, Thursday.