The French government's decision to pass its controversial pension reform without a vote in the National Assembly will limit Paris' ability to implement future reforms and maintain a significant risk of protests and the possibility of an early legislative election. On March 16, the French government announced it would pass a controversial pension reform using article 49.3 of the French constitution, which allows it to adopt legislation without a vote in the National Assembly. The government made this decision after weeks of speculation over whether President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Elizabeth Borne had enough support in the legislature to pass the reform, given that their centrist Renaissance (RE) party and its allies do not control a majority in the lower chamber. While the leaders of the conservative The Republicans (LR) party had officially vowed to support the reform, many of its lawmakers in the National Assembly were skeptical about...