French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne will today present the government’s plans for the controversial reform of the pension system. An important part of these plans is raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 or 65. However, Borne and his chief president Emmanuel Macron have lost their majority in parliament, and unions are also opposed.
“The retirement age must be raised,” says France correspondent Eveline Bijlsma. The current retirement age is now 62 and should be raised to 64, although President Macron would prefer a limit of 65. But it becomes difficult when the unions, the left and the yellow vests are against it. Macron would have preferred 65, but had to compromise. So he also comes up with another plan so that the French can keep working as long as possible. People aged 50 and under will soon have to work for 43 years to receive a full pension, Macron wants this to apply to people aged 56 and under as well.
Trade unions, left-wing parties on the political spectrum and yellow vests may still not cooperate, actions have already been announced. Whether it will become intense remains to be seen, thinks Bijlsma. ‘There are conflicting reports: 54% are against the plans, but 53% say something needs to be done. So they feel that urgency. Last Saturday the yellow vests took to the streets, but had a low turnout. But things can go badly with the unions and the far left. However, the French are lethargic from all crises, so maybe it won’t be too bad.’
In addition to the age limit, the implementation of the current system is also hotly debated. The current system is regulated separately for each professional group; for example, there are dozens of different systems under which some professions can retire much earlier than others. Macron wants to get rid of it. The issue of French pensions has been going on for years without successive governments being able to change it.
Source: BNR
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