Riots have broken out during renewed protests against the government’s pension reform approved by the French 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. 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.
After months of arguments about his pension reform, French President Emmanuel Macron had won what may be the decisive victory: the gradual increase in the retirement age from 62 to 64 years can come. The French Constitutional Council declared the project, against which there have been massive protests on the streets for months, to be essentially constitutional.
At the same time, the Conseil Constitutionnel declared plans by opponents of reform for a referendum to be inadmissible. The opponents wanted to try to cap the retirement age to 62 years after all.
Despite the success, Macron is not the clear winner. The president and his middle government are battered by the tough struggle for reform. Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne wrote cautiously: “Tonight there will be neither winners nor vanquished.” Macron now wants to start a new chapter as soon as possible – but new protests could thwart his plans. Nobody expects opponents of the reform to give up quickly.
The reform aims to prevent an impending hole in the pension fund. The payment period for a full pension should increase more quickly. Trade unions and large parts of the opposition reject the reform. Hundreds of thousands have been demonstrating regularly against the project since the beginning of the year. In polls, a clear majority of the population is against the reform.
Protests in several cities
After the decision, protests broke out again in several cities. In Paris, people flocked to the City Hall. In Nice, demonstrators marched across the embankment. There had already been rallies and blockades during the day. Rallies are also expected on Saturday. The unions called for new protest marches for May 1st.
They also announced that they would not accept an invitation from Macron to a meeting on Tuesday. This was justified by the fact that the President had avoided consultations for months. The boss of France’s largest trade union, CFDT, Laurent Berger, wrote: “In order to get out of the social crisis, wisdom requires not to promulgate the law.”
However, the broadcaster BFMTV reported from those close to the President that Macron would implement the reform within a few days. Labor Minister Olivier Dussopt announced that it would take effect from September 1st.
Many are already retiring later
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.
The Constitutional Council now had the last word in the political dispute. Left, right-wing nationalists and Prime Minister Borne had called him. MEPs complained that the government packaged the reform in a budget text and shortened debate time in parliament. However, the constitutional authorities saw no problem in this. However, they conceded individual measures that were not directly related to the finances.
The months-long struggle over reform has left Macron and the government weakened. They failed to find a reliable majority in the National Assembly. They pushed the plan through at the last minute without a final vote in the chamber to avoid a defeat. This action was an admission of weakness and provoked great anger. The fact that the Constitutional Council has now largely approved the reform is a necessary victory for Macron. So far, his second term has not been exactly rosy.
What will become of the protests?
The president declared almost self-sacrificingly that the reform was in the interest of the country and that he would accept unpopularity. Nevertheless, he now hopes to quickly put the annoying pension issue behind him. He is expected to address the populace next week and then, with a series of trips around the country, intend to do what he avoided in the fight for reform: show presence. Macron has stayed in the background in the pension dispute. He even traveled abroad during many key moments, which some interpreted and resented as arrogance.
His troops are now hoping that the protests will slowly diminish. However, by and large, the unions had declared that they wanted to respect the Constitutional Council’s decision. However, it is feared that violence will return to spontaneous rallies. More radical groups are likely to continue their strikes anyway – in the hope of somehow preventing them.
Macron’s opponents in parliamentary business were also combative. The right-wing nationalist Marine Le Pen said the political fate of the reform was not yet set in stone. The leftist Jean-Luc Mélenchon wrote: “The struggle must go on.”
Almost a year after his re-election, Macron has achieved success in the bitter pension dispute, but is by no means in a comfortable situation. The protests made it clear that there is great dissatisfaction with him and the government – far beyond the pension reform. He must now carefully consider how he will make it through his remaining four years in office.
