Your Friday briefing: Macron passes the pension bill

Moreover, Poland says it will donate warplanes to Ukraine and Japan extends hand to South Korea.

< figure class="img-sz-medium css-1vxyf6h e1g7ppur0" aria-label="media" role="group">ImageProtesters gathered in Paris yesterday.Credit...Pascal Rossignol/ReutersMacron imposes a retirement plan

President Emmanuel Macron pushed through a controversial legislation to raise the retirement age in France – without a full vote in parliament. The decision stoked tensions and set the stage for a no-confidence vote against his government.

The move, which raises the retirement age to 62 at 64, has drawn calls for more protests after two months of mass protests and strikes. In parliament, opposition MPs sang the national anthem and banged their desks. In the streets, protesters pledged to continue the fight.

Macron used a constitutional measure to enact the bill without putting it to a vote in the Assembly national, the lowest and most powerful chamber of Parliament. The upper house, the Senate, approved the bill. Macron's party and his allies only hold a slim majority in the National Assembly and did not get enough votes to pass the bill.

The decision to avoid a vote is legal, but will be seen by Macron's opponents as undemocratic. A vote of no confidence in the National Assembly is expected in the coming days, most likely on Monday, but it is unlikely to succeed. If it was the case...