France's Le Pen Says Vote of No Confidence Weakened French Government

PARIS (Sputnik) - A vote of no confidence in the French government, put forward by the opposition parliamentary group LIOT (Libertes, Independants, Outre-mer et Territoires) in the National Assembly, weakened the cabinet, French right-wing politician Marine Le Pen said on Tuesday.

On Monday, the French National Assembly dismissed the no confidence motion since it failed to receive an absolute majority, falling nine votes short out of total 287 lawmakers. Another vote of no confidence, put forward by Le Pen’s National Rally faction received support from 94 lawmakers, and has also been rejected.

"After this vote, the government is very weakened. The vote of no confidence was not supported by the majority, it fell short of nine votes. This is much less than the government expected. They have a very poor idea of what is happening in the state, what the French want and what is going on in their own ranks," Le Pen told French broadcaster.

The politician stressed that the authorities "do not feel sorry for the French," as they decided to carry out a pension reform at a time when the population is forced to cope with rising food and energy prices against the backdrop of rising inflation.

Last week, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne announced that the government had adopted the law on raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 years by 2030, by invoking Article 49.3 of the constitution, which allowed the bill to get passed without parliamentary approval. The decision sparked a strong backlash, prompting people to take to the streets across the country.

There have already been seven general strikes and hundreds of demonstrations in France within the last two months, with over 1 million people taking part in most of them. During the protests, clashes often broke out between the police and protesters.