Reuters
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French President Emmanuel Macron’s authorities will try and revive his financial reform drive and rating a significant political victory this week with a launch of the pension system’s overhaul within the face of vehement commerce union opposition.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne is to element on Tuesday plans to make the French work longer, almost certainly by elevating the retirement age to 64 or 65 from 62 at present.
With one of many lowest retirement ages within the industrialized world, France additionally spends greater than most different nations on pensions at almost 14% of financial output, in response to the Organisation for Financial Cooperation and Growth.
The reform’s passage by way of parliament is not going to be simple. Macron lacks a working majority and might want to win over a number of dozen conservative lawmakers or use his constitutional powers to bypass the meeting, which might enrage the opposition and additional irritate the general public.
Pension reform in France, the place the suitable to retire on a full pension at 62 is deeply cherished, is at all times a extremely delicate concern and much more so now with social discontent mounting over the surging price of dwelling.
The federal government says reform is critical to maintain the pension system’s funds out of the pink within the coming years, however successful may be a political game-changer for Macron after he misplaced management of parliament final 12 months.
“The intention is to steadiness the accounts with out elevating taxes or reducing pensions. Varied choices are on the desk, however all embrace elevating the retirement age,” authorities spokesman Olivier Veran advised journalists.
Macron needed to put the pension reform on ice in 2020 as the federal government rushed to include the Covid outbreak and save the economic system.
Now, he can depend on harder union opposition than in 2020 with even the reform-minded CFDT – France’s greatest union – threatening to protest, which it abstained from three years in the past regardless of misgivings concerning the reform on the time.
“If the retirement age is pushed again to 65 or 64, the CFDT will do what we’ve mentioned we’ll do, we are going to resist this reform by calling on employees to mobilise,” CFDT head Laurent Berger mentioned final week.
Requires walk-outs may discover extra traction this time with frustrations already working excessive over the lack of buying energy throughout the present inflation disaster.
Determined to maintain social tensions in examine, the federal government has spent tens of billions of euros to melt the blow of document energy and gasoline costs, which has stored French inflation decrease than in most different EU nations.
Though current strike motion has been restricted to particular sectors, akin to refineries and airways, outrage over pension reform may simply spark far broader protests.
The yellow vest motion, largely dormant since violent anti-Macron avenue protests in 2018 and 2019, held a march by way of central Paris on Saturday, although turnout was low.
Polls present pension reform is unpopular. Nonetheless, the federal government nonetheless believes that most people temper is extra inclined in the direction of resignation than anger in contrast with 2018, Veran, the federal government spokesman, mentioned.
“We’re not reforming pensions to be standard however to be accountable. We’ll go all the best way as a result of it’s the one means our social mannequin can survive,” he added.