The chief economist of the World Bank (WB), Indermit Gill, estimated on Monday that, faced with the increase in life expectancy, raising the retirement age was necessary in order to maintain the share of the working population despite aging.
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Taking the example of France, Mr. Gill recalled that there “we have seen a 20-year increase in life expectancy since 1950, so we should expect people to work longer”.
A sign, however, of the difficulty in having what he sees as a necessity accepted, “people refuse to work even two more years despite this two-decade increase in life expectancy”.
“We observe a slowdown in the share of the active population” in the overall population of advanced countries while maintaining this share makes it possible to “reduce the effects of aging on economic growth”.
“But for that, someone has to make the necessary structural reforms,” said Mr. Gill.
Definitively adopted on March 20 without a vote of the National Assembly, following the use of article 49-3 of the Constitution by Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne, the pension reform, which provides for a decline in the legal retirement age aged 62 to 64, is the subject of a deep protest movement which has further hardened for more than a week.
President Emmanuel Macron must however wait for the Constitutional Council to validate the text before promulgating the law.
Its adoption led to a radicalization of part of the opposition to the reform, with almost daily clashes between the police and certain groups of demonstrators, in particular in Paris and in certain large cities.
It also gave a boost to the mobilization, between 1.3 million, according to the police, and 3.5 million people, according to the unions, participating in the rallies throughout the country on Thursday March 23.
A new day of mobilization is scheduled for Tuesday, which should be marked, once once more, by a strong turnout.
