2023-08-31 23:18:39
In France, President Emmanuel Macron’s controversial pension reform will come into force this Friday following months of sometimes violent protests. Large rallies at the start of the reform, which will gradually increase the retirement age from 62 to 64, have not been announced. Labor Minister Olivier Dussopt visits a regional pension insurance office in Mulhouse, Alsace, on Friday when the new rules come into force.
The trade unions had made a united front once morest the reform and organized mass protests with hundreds of thousands of participants. The rallies sometimes turned violent following the government pushed the reform through parliament without a vote following a turbulent debate. In the end, the presidential camp was not sure of sufficient support from other parties, hence the unusual step. The protests were accompanied by strikes on the railways and at airports. No rubbish was dumped in parts of Paris for weeks.
Macron actually put the sensitive issue of retirement age on the agenda during his first term in office. After the so-called yellow vest protests, however, the corona pandemic came and the reform was called off for the time being. In the 2022 election campaign, the President then announced a second attempt.
So far, many people in France have been working beyond the age of 62 if they had not paid in long enough for a pension without deductions when they reached retirement age.
Macron justified the reform with an impending deficit in the pension fund. In view of an aging population, employees would have to pay for an increasing number of pensioners with their contributions. In order to keep the reference level stable, the population would have to work a little longer.
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