French Prime Minister Manuel Valls defied critics from left and right on Tuesday by declaring he would ram a flagship economic reform bill through parliament by decree, bypassing backbench rebels but exposing his government to a no-confidence vote.

The package, which includes rules to broaden trading hours and deregulate some sectors, is aimed at spurring growth and persuading the European Commission to give Paris more time to get its public finances into line with EU rules.

Although the liberalising reforms are mild by the standards of many European countries, they sparked a revolt by dozens of back-bench lawmakers in the ruling Socialist party, putting the government’s majority in doubt.

It is the first time since 2006 that any government has used a constitutional mechanism to push through a bill without a vote, triggering complaints that the reformist Valls was being authoritarian and short-circuiting parliament.

““There is a possibility of a majority vote in favour of this