France’s National Assembly passes bill to fight inflation

In France, the government took a step forward to boost household purchasing power amid soaring inflation as the National Assembly passed a bill on Friday lifting pensions and temporarily freezing rent hikes. Securing 341 votes for the bill, with 116 against, the government was backed by Les Republicains and the far-right Rassemblement National, while Nupes lawmakers did not vote for it. The late-night vote followed heated debates in which politicians of the left-wing Nupes alliance, the largest opposition bloc, criticised the government for measures they said did not go far enough. Macron’s government won the backing of Les Républicains after it said it would consider several other measures proposed by conservative lawmakers, including a bigger allowance to help pay the fuel bill of people who need to drive to work, a tax exemption for overtime work, and the opportunity for workers to receive money for unused vacation time from their employer.

The bill next goes to the Senate, the upper house dominated by the conservative Les Republicains. The draft law also includes a pay rise for public sector workers, food checks and a mechanism for companies to make higher tax-free bonus payments to employees. The expected budget cost is about 20 billion Euros. Last month, France saw inflation of 6.5 per cent on the year, in line with other Euro Zone countries.