Left-wing parties announce no-trust motion against French government

Paris, Dec. 6 (IANS): Left-leaning political parties in the French National Assembly on Thursday announced they were set to subject the government to a vote of no confidence over its handling of the so-called “Yellow Jackets” crisis — consisting of widespread social protests that rocked the country in recent weeks.

The protesters as part of the “Yellow Jackets” movement had taken to streets against rising gas prices and taxes on polluting forms of transport. Three people died in the unrest that continued for the past three weekends.

The first secretary of the Socialist Party, Olivier Faure, said that the parliamentary move had the backing of the progressive-populist party La France Insoumise and of the Communist Party, Efe news reported.

Faure said that three parties were seeking to earn the support of other groups for the no-trust motion, which will be introduced in the lower chamber on Monday.

As it stands, the vote has very slim chances of prospering due to the comfortable absolute majority enjoyed by the ruling party, the centre-right La République En Marche of President Emmanuel Macron.

The Socialist leader, conscious of this fact, rhetorically asked: “What is this good for?”

“It’s good for proving that another way is possible,” he added. “There’s a common goal: making the tax system more just.”

Lawmakers will cast their definitive votes at least 48 hours after the motion’s introduction on Monday and subsequent parliamentary debate.

“We can clearly see that there’s a government that is heading straight towards the wall and is still maintaining the same political logic,” said Ugo Bernalicis, an Assembly member for La France Insoumise.

“It is our collective responsibility to stop this and make sure we change the government, and therefore our politics,” he said.

According to the left-wing lawmaker, if politicians fail to confront the ongoing social discontent, “chaos will come”.

He therefore defended acting through institutional means in the French Parliament.