Macron's Domestic Agenda in Jeopardy Amid Defiant Show of Force on Pension Reform

French President Emmanuel Macron's decision to bypass parliament and impose his deeply unpopular pensions reform has revealed an uncompromising and weakened leader who now faces severe backlash from emboldened opposition lawmakers and protesters. Macron's troops still have a lot to learn when it comes to old-style politicking. The move destroys prospects of a closer alliance between Macron's Renaissance party and the conservative Les Républicains following a string of ad-hoc deals in recent months.