France’s President Macron overrides parliament to pass retirement age bill

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday resorted to using special constitutional powers to push his plan to raise the retirement age to 64 from 62 through the lower house of parliament.

The pensions overhaul has been met with widespread protests and strikes across France, with the issue seen as extremely contentious in the European nation.

The plans were passed in France’s Senate on Thursday morning but had been due for a vote in the National Assembly (the lower house), where its approval was not guaranteed.

Instead, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne announced to the assembly that the government would trigger Article 49.3 of the French constitution.

Lawmakers opposed to the reforms booed, chanted and shouted “resignation” as she spoke, Reuters reported. At one point the session was suspended for two minutes as politicians sang the national anthem too loudly for her to be heard.

Macron’s Renaissance party argues reform of the pension system is necessary to sustain it long into the future. It has a projected annual deficit of 10 billion euros ($10.73 billion) each year between 2022 and 2032, according to France’s Pensions Advisory Council. 

However, opinion polls suggest a majority of the public supported industrial action to oppose the changes, which include requiring workers to contribute to the system for 43 years to qualify for a full pension.

Strikes have taken place since the start of the year and intensified over the last week, hitting transport, schools, oil refineries, municipal workers and beyond. The action has resulted in trash building up in parts of Paris.

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.