On Monday, the French government will face two votes of no confidence due to the controversy surrounding its pension reform. Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne used constitutional article 49:3 to pass the bill without a vote last week, leading to widespread protests across France.
The centrist MPs and far-right National Rally have filed the no-confidence motions, which will be debated in parliament from 16:00 (15:00 GMT). If successful, the positions of Ms Borne and the government would be at risk, and President Emmanuel Macron could either name a new government or dissolve the National Assembly and call new elections.
The pension reform bill would also be nullified. However, if the motions fail, the retirement age will be raised from 62 to 64. Mr Macron has argued that France's ageing population makes the current pension scheme unaffordable, but not all in parliament agree.
Charles de Courson, the author of one of the no-confidence votes, believes that removing the government is the only way to stop the social and political crisis in the country. Mr Macron's allies are in the minority in the National Assembly, but for the motions to succeed, all opposition must unite.
The Republican party of France currently holds 61 seats and their leader, Eric Ciotti, recently announced that they would not support the no-confidence motions. Ciotti stated that the decision to invoke the clause was a result of political failures over many years, which had caused a profound crisis in the constitution.
However, he did not believe that a vote of no confidence was the solution. Despite this, one senior Republican, Aurelien Pradie, has said that he will vote against the government. The use of 49:3 has caused outrage among many in France, with protesters clashing with police over the reforms.
Thousands of people have lit fires across the country and some have even thrown firecrackers at police. Ciotti has reported that people threw rocks at his office overnight and other MPs who support the bill have received death threats. Strikes are expected to continue in opposition to the proposed increase in the retirement age.
