France’s government wants to raise the retirement age. There is plenty of criticism for this on the street. Again there are mass protests and strikes. Can they bring down Macron’s plan?
The pension reform is considered one of the most important projects of French President Emmanuel Macron – but his plans are met with incomprehension, anger and protest among the population. On Tuesday there were mass demonstrations and strikes in many cities. Is the liberal president facing a new protest movement that could endanger him? Is reform really a necessary evil?
In surveys, almost two-thirds of French people are against the reform project. According to the Interior Ministry, 757,000 people took part in strikes and protests on Tuesday. According to the CGT union, it was almost two million. “People feel badly treated by the government at the moment,” says protest researcher Johannes Maria Becker from the University of Marburg. The movement could stop.
The plans envisage gradually raising the retirement age from 62 to 64. However, by no means everyone in France retires at 62 today. The pension only becomes deductible if it has been paid in for long enough – or at the age of 67.
Forecasts predict deficits in the pension fund
But the government doesn’t just want to tighten the retirement age. The increase in the necessary payment period for a full pension, which was decided years ago, is to be accelerated. In addition, individual pension systems with privileges for certain occupational groups are to be abolished. The minimum pension is to rise to around 1,200 euros.
Official forecasts, which show deficits in the pension fund for the coming years, suggest that a change is needed. Macron and his government insist that raising the retirement age is necessary. Monika Queisser, social policy expert at the industrialized nations organization OECD, points out: “In every pay-as-you-go system there are basically three parameters: the retirement age, the amount of the pension and the contribution rate. In addition, countries can of course also provide tax subsidies, as is the case in Germany with the federal subsidy .”
Queisser explains that the contribution rate in France is already high at around 28 percent of gross wages, and that pensions are forecast to fall in the long term. “Increasing the retirement age also means more contributions to pension funds and reduces expenditure on pensions, since these are only paid out later.”
“They up there”: different demonstration culture in France
According to Becker, the fact that the pension plans are bringing so many people onto the streets is also due to a different demonstration culture. “In France, in this central country, when something doesn’t go well, people say: ‘The state doesn’t work, they up there.’ Over here, people say: ‘Oh damn, what have I done wrong in my life?’ “Accordingly, there are a lot of demands in France that the state should spend more money on the pension fund.
The protests are having an effect. Even in Macron’s group there are MPs with reservations, as well as in the conservative Républicains, with whose votes the government hopes to get the reform through parliament. Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne is now trying to persuade the Républicains to say yes with concessions. The debate in the National Assembly began on Monday. Then it is the turn of the Senate, the second chamber.
Macron lets Borne fight the battles. He seems unimpressed by the protests – perhaps because he won’t be able to stand again after his second term in office anyway. Perhaps also because he was re-elected despite a number of crises in his first term and now believes he is immune to protests. Should the reform project fail, however, Macron would be weakened for the remaining four years in office.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
