France’s government has now officially pushed through its controversial pension reform despite all protests. The law to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 was published in the French Official Gazette on Saturday. The French Constitutional Council had approved the project just hours earlier.
The constitutional authorities declared a referendum, which opponents of the reform had hoped for, to be inadmissible. However, trade unions and the opposition called for further resistance. There were also numerous protests against the reform on Friday evening and Saturday night, and dozens were arrested.
More than 100 arrests
Protests broke out in Paris, Nice, Nantes, Rennes and other cities after the decision of the Constitutional Council. In the capital Paris alone, 112 demonstrators were arrested on Friday evening and 30 garbage cans were set on fire, the television station “BFMTV” reported, citing the police prefect. Photos showed burning garbage cans in front of Paris City Hall.
There were also protests in a number of other cities such as Strasbourg, Lyon and Nantes, and in Rennes the door of a police station was set on fire. There had already been rallies and road blockades during the day on Friday.
In the past few months, hundreds of thousands have taken to the streets against the plans. The reform aims to prevent an impending hole in the pension fund. The retirement age in France is currently 62. In fact, retirement begins later on average today: those who have not paid in long enough to receive a full pension work longer. At the age of 67 there is a pension without a deduction, regardless of how long it has been paid in – the government is keeping that.
New demonstrations announced
The law on pension reform is now to take effect from September. The unions still want to protest. They have called for new mass demonstrations for May 1st.
“The fight goes on and we have to join forces,” said left-wing politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon. The Socialists announced a motion to repeal the law. “I appeal to the President: he must hear the overwhelming majority, everywhere in France, opposed to this reform that is dividing the country,” said Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.
France’s right-wing Marine Le Pen, who is on the upswing due to the pension dispute, called for the government and Macron to be punished in the next elections. “The people always have the last word.” She wants to roll back the reform should she come to power.
Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne, on the other hand, said on Friday evening that the pension reform had now reached the end of the democratic process. “Tonight there are no winners and no vanquished.” The government announced that the pension fund would be balanced in 2030 with the reform. They now want to discuss better working conditions and the way to full employment with the social partners.
