Protests in France as pension reform bill forced through National Assembly without a vote

Anger mounted amongst pension reform protesters on Thursday as France's Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne used a special procedure to push an unpopular pensions reform bill through the National Assembly without a vote. The move will ensure the bill raising the retirement age by two years to 64 - which the government says is essential to ensure the pension system does not go bust - is adopted after weeks of protests and fractious debate. But it also shows President Emmanuel Macron and his government failed to garner a majority in parliament, a blow to the centrist president and his ability to win support from other parties for further reforms. Opinion polls show a vast majority of voters oppose the pension reform, as do trade unions, who say there are other ways to balance the accounts, including taxing the wealthy more. The French government insists the move is needed to keep the pension fund solvent. For more info, please go to Subscribe to Global News Channel HERE: Like Global News on Facebook HERE: Follow Global News on Twitter HERE: Follow Global News on Instagram HERE: #GlobalNews #franceprotests