Demonstrators Call for France's Withdrawal From NATO

Over the weekend, thousands of demonstrators called for France's withdrawal from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and an immediate halt to arms deliveries to Ukraine.

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The "March for Peace" kicked off near the site of the French Senate. The demonstrators waved banners "Stop the war provoked by the U.S. and NATO" and "Freedom, Truth, Resistance."

Many French Internet users have posted photos and videos of this march on social media. "Thousands of people are asking for France's withdrawal from NATO, the EU, and all the organizations that deprive us of our national sovereignty!" said one of the social media users.

An independent Lebanese geopolitical commentator Sarah Abdallah asked on her social media: "Why is Western media ignoring the anti-NATO protests happening today in Paris, France?"

This is the second march organized in 2023 in Paris demanding France to withdraw from NATO, according to a report published by the website Solidarity and Progress. The anti-war protests come amid discontent over pension reform.

On Friday afternoon, two no-confidence motions had been filed against Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne. The first multiparty motion was filed by the centrist group LIOT and was co-signed by 91 opposition lawmakers from different parties. The second motion was tabled by the far-right National Rally party, which argues that the pension overhaul is "unfair and unnecessary."

Previously, Borne triggered the article 49 of the French Constitution that allows the government to force passage of the controversial pension reform bill without a vote in the National Assembly. The only way for the National Assembly to veto this is to pass a no-confidence motion against the government.

Should any of the two no-confidence motions be endorsed by an absolute majority -- 289 votes in favor -- Borne would have to submit to French President Emmanuel Macron the resignation of her government.