14/4/2023–|Last updated: 4/14/202311:56 PM (Makkah Al-Mukarramah)
Today, Friday, the Constitutional Council in France approved the most important part of the pension reform law, which is the main project in Emmanuel Macron’s second term, while French cities witnessed protests once morest the new law.
A statement issued by the council stated that its members rejected a number of minor aspects of the reform, but did not object to the main measure that raises the legal retirement age from 62 to 64.
Al-Jazeera correspondent said that the Constitutional Council in France refused to organize a referendum to approve reforms to the pension system.
He also reported that protesters attacked a police headquarters in the French city of Rennes and set fire to its gate, as well as setting fire to garbage containers and bicycles in Paris, and protests in Nantes, France, and setting fires on the light rail track in the city.
The correspondent stated that the French unions demanded Macron not to sign the retirement law despite the ratification of the Constitutional Council, while the Elysee announced that the French president had invited the unions to meet next Tuesday to discuss the retirement law crisis.
The Secretary General of the French Federation of Labor called for a popular flood and made the first of May (Labour Day) a day of historic mobilization.
She said, “If Macron ratifies the new law, we will only meet with him to discuss withdrawing it.”
Prior to the issuance of the Constitutional Council’s decision, demonstrations took place in various parts of France. A demonstration kicked off at noon Friday in Paris and more protests were planned in other cities nationwide, and roads were closed and blocked across the country.
It is noteworthy that the protests are directed once morest the gradual increase in the retirement age from 62 to 64. The center-right government wants to fill a looming gap in the pension fund through the amendment.
The dispute intensified because the French government pushed the text forward to pass it through the National Assembly without a vote.
Since then, the protests, which have been peaceful for weeks, have been overshadowed by violence, and Macron wants the amendment to enter into force by the end of the year.
