France: The French government has used controversial special constitutional powers to force through pension reforms, including a rise in retirement age. The parliament witnessed several chaotic scenes in which radical left MPs sang La Marseillaise in top voices to stop the Prime Minister Ms. Elisabeth Borne from speaking.

The country’s President Mr. Emmanuel Macron took a last-minute decision to avoid a parliamentary vote and instead push through his controversial plan to raise the pension age from 62 to 64.

Mr. Macron opted to invoke Article 49.3 of the Constitution, which gives the government the power to bypass parliament. Ms. Borne remarked in parliament that the bill would be pushed through because the government could not “gamble the future of our pensions.”

In addition, the President told cabinet ministers that “the financial risks were too great” if the law had been rejected by MPs.

According to Macron’s pension reforms, the minimum general retirement age will increase from 62 to 64, some public sector workers will lose privileges, and there will be an accelerated increase in the number of years of work required to qualify for a full pension.

Politicians on the left called Mr. Macron’s move a major defeat and a sign of weakness and accused the government of being brutal and undemocratic.

The Communist MP, Mr. Fabien Roussel, called on street protesters and trade unionists to keep mobilising.

Mr. Erwan Balanant, a Brittany MoDem MP, commented that he had left the parliament chamber “in a state of shock.”

“It’s a total failure for the government,” the far-right leader, Ms. Marine Le Pen, told reporters afterwards, adding that Borne should resign.

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