The French government is going to introduce a bill to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne announced this during a press conference yesterday. “I am certainly aware that adapting our pension system will lead to questions and fear among the French population,” said Borne.
With the reform, the government is trying to tackle one of the country’s most sensitive social issues. About 54 percent of the French are once morest the plans. The unions have announced actions, but according to the government, pensions will be unaffordable in the long term if 62 remains the norm.
3 billion euros
In 2022, the French pension pot still had a surplus of more than 3 billion euros. In 2023, this will change into a deficit that will rise to 20 billion in 2032. In recent months, the government has been discussing the reforms with the social partners and, behind the scenes, with the opposition in parliament. That led to a few final adjustments.
The age increase will be introduced from 2030. The period during which contributions must be paid in order to be entitled to a full pension will also be extended. The minimum pension will increase to approximately 1200 euros per month.
Initially, Macron aimed at 65 years, but in order to gain sufficient support in parliament, he lowered that to 64 years.
Mass into the street
The unions are looking for a joint response. “We will take to the streets en masse,” warned Frédéric Souillot of trade federation FO. “All unions are once morest the plans and the majority of the French are once morest the plans. It cannot be that the government turns once morest the whole country.
The government sees that differently. “Of course it cannot be the case that you do not take a measure just because it is an unpopular measure,” said government spokesman Olivier Véran.
Pensions have been an explosive issue in France for decades. Almost every announced reform leads to protest. The current French pension system was set up following the Second World War. In 1982, Socialist President François Mitterrand lowered the official retirement age from 65 to 60.
From the 1990s, the rules were tightened when it became clear that the population was aging. In protest, in 1995 there was a three-week strike across the country. Under right-wing president Nicolas Sarkozy, the retirement age was raised from 60 to 62 in 2010. Even then, millions of French people took to the streets.
Concessions
At the end of 2019, Emmanuel Macron presented his first plans to tackle pensions, and even then there were strikes and protests. In the end, Macron put his plans on hold because corona took hold.
Macron was re-elected last year and now he wants to actually start raising the retirement age. However, the issue is also sensitive in the French parliament. Because Macron no longer has a majority there, he has to negotiate with his opponents.
The two main opposition parties, the radical left and radical right, are once morest it. The moderate-right opposition is ready to vote in favor if the government wants to make additional concessions.
Macron wants to send the plans to the Assembly at the end of this month.
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