The trending French hashtags say it all.

They translate as: #angrylawyers, #sosretirement, #leaveusthehellalone.

French lawyers are indignant and disappointed, but determined to continue their fight against proposed reforms to the French pension system, which came a step closer to passage over the weekend after the government of Emmanuel Macron invoked its constitutional power to move the bill forward without a first parliamentary vote.

The bill has several steps yet to go before becoming law, and lawyers told Law.com International on Monday that the government's action Feb. 29 only reinforced their objections to the proposed changes in pension contributions and payouts, which they feel will hurt all lawyers' independence and hit small practitioners the hardest.

"It's an assault on égalité in our profession," Christiane Féral-Schuhl, president of the Conseil National des Barreaux, or National Bar Council, said in an interview. "And as long as it's not finally decided, we will fight. It's what we do."

The Ordre des Avocats, which oversees discipline and standards for all lawyers practicing in France, said it would meet Tuesday to strategize on whether and how to continue the strikes and other work stoppages that have already led to significant delays in French courts.

"We were not surprised by the government's action, but we are disappointed, and we remain firmly opposed to the principles behind this reform," Julien Aubignat, a spokesperson for the Ordre des Avocats, told Law.com International.

The CNB, which represents 70,000 lawyers admitted to the French bar, is gearing up for a long spring of lobbying, marshalling public opinion, and—if necessary—constitutional challenges.

"Our mobilization continues," Féral-Schuhl said. "It could be strikes, continuances, demonstrations—each region will choose its own way to express its profound objections."

The pension bill, which aims to consolidate France's 42 disparate retirement systems into one national regime, has drawn nationwide protests since it was published in early December.

Unions and other workers' representatives, including lawyers groups, dispute the government's claim that a single system would be fairer to all, and assert that the new law lacks specifics on how pensions will be calculated and paid out.

The protests and strikes forced the government to amend the bill significantly before presenting it Feb. 17 to the Assemblée Nationale, or lower house of parliament, where it has drawn acrimonious and partisan exchanges ever since.

In cutting off the deliberations Feb. 29, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said the government was acting "not to end debate, but to end this episode of non-debate."

Article 49-3 of the French constitution allows the government to "commit its responsibility" for a bill and move it along without a vote unless parliament votes a motion of no confidence, effectively a veto of the government's action.

Originally written to strengthen the government's power against an opposition legislature, the article has also been used to speed legislation through a friendly parliament without the fear of veto.

Opposition lawmakers quickly called for no-confidence votes to be taken early this week; the votes are thought unlikely to pass since Macron's party, La République en Marche, holds an overwhelming majority.

"We regret the forced adoption of this bill by the National Assembly without a full debate on the negative aspects for the legal profession, and which so far has not offered lawyers any financial or legal protection," the CNB said in a statement on its website.

A major sticking point for lawyers is a proposed increase in mandatory social charges for lawyers making less than €40,000 a year—a group that includes solo practitioners and skews toward practice areas such as criminal defense and small claims representation.

"Apart from the financial impact, there is a real concern in the profession about how this is going to affect access to adequate representation," one lawyer told Law.com International on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak for his firm.

Lawyers are also concerned about the fate of their supplemental pension fund, a mandatory-contribution private fund that tops up the public pension. With reserves of €2 billion, the lawyers' fund is one of the more robust in the country.

Lawyers fear that as retirement regimes are combined, the lawyers' reserves will be used to make up shortfalls in other groups' accounts. The government denies that this will happen.

A related fear is that, under a centrally managed retirement regime, the government will start to micromanage how the lawyers' fund is disbursed and to whom—decisions that the lawyers currently make for themselves.

"The overwhelming feeling in our office is, Why can't they just leave us alone?" said a lawyer at an international firm in Paris, speaking on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak for her firm.

The pension bill now goes to the Sénat, or upper house, for debate and potential revision before returning to the lower house for a final vote, probably before the summer.

If the bill survives the final vote, it can be appealed to the Constitutional Council, an appointed body whose duties include ruling on the constitutionality of laws after they have been voted by the legislature but before they are signed by the president.

Opposition parties have already signaled that they will appeal, and lawyers' groups said Monday that they were studying the constitutional foundations for overturning all or part of the law.

"Lack of visibility about finances is a real potential area of constitutional challenge," Aubignat, of the Ordre des Avocats, said. "The proposed law is still not clear on how much people will pay and what their pensions will be."

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French Lawyers Stiffen Their Resolve to Combat Pension Reforms