French public debt has risen to 3,000 billion euros. To address this, President Emmanuel Macron wants, among other things, to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. And not everyone agrees.
According to French correspondent Eveline Bijlsma, the debts did not arise overnight. “The current debt is double what it was in 2009.” This is partly due to the French government’s spending pattern. This is one of the highest in Europe. This is a choice.’
France, for example, has an expensive social security system, which accounts for more than half of public spending. And during the pandemic, 600 billion euros have been borrowed to provide corona support. France has also had a price ceiling for gas and electricity for over a year. «It was introduced in Ukraine before the war and continued to exist. This ceiling will cost the State 25 billion euros.’
Z-Euro
Compared to other EU countries, even France is not doing well in terms of public debt, but it could be worse. «France is in fifth place among the countries with the highest public debt, after Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain».
Few French people are worried about the level of the national debt, all the more worried about the measures Macron wants to take to reduce the debt. The aforementioned increase in the retirement age has long occupied the French. “This is a sensitive point.”
The legal retirement age has already been raised to 62 in France, but Macron wants to raise it to 64 or even 65. “The need is great,” says Bijlsma. “The French pension system is mostly a pay-as-you-go system where workers pay for their pensioners. But soon there will be many pensioners in France, the system is not able to handle it.’
Demonstrations
Protests in France could follow. “Unions and the left opposition are against it and are already heating up.” Polls show that more than half of French people are against the proposed pension reform, a group of the same size think something needs to be done but don’t want to pay for it themselves.
Source: BNR
Sharon Rock is an author and journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. She has a passion for learning about different cultures and understanding the complexities of the world. With a talent for explaining complex global issues in an accessible and engaging way, Sharon has become a respected voice in the field of world news journalism.
