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Macron pushes pension plan

By JONATHAN POWELL in London | China Daily Global | Updated: 2022-10-28 10:02
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Controversial measures set to raise retirement age from 62 to 65 by 2031

France's President Emmanuel Macron. [Photo/Agencies]

France's President Emmanuel Macron has reiterated his intention to implement controversial pension reforms that would make younger generations work longer.

In an interview on Wednesday, Macron told France 2 television that the minimum retirement age to get full a pension would be gradually increased from 62 to 65 by 2031, and that the changes would start being applied next year.

"There's only one way to do it if we are lucid. Since we are living longer, it's to work longer," he said.

He emphasized the reform was needed to avoid having to reduce the size of the state pension that is available to all French workers.

Workers' unions and most opposition political parties are against the pension changes, which Macron is seeking to push through Parliament.

But Macron's centrist alliance lost its parliamentary majority in June, making it harder for the government to get reforms passed.

The alliance still has the most National Assembly seats, with 250.The Nupes left-wing alliance is the largest opposition force with 151 seats, while the right-wing National Rally party has 89 seats.

On Monday, the government survived three no-confidence votes generated by opposition lawmakers to protest the "anti-democratic" use of a constitutional technicality to force the budget bill through the National Assembly without a vote. The government had previously failed to win backing for the budget from a divided house.

The president said on Wednesday that he was willing to ally with lawmakers from the conservative Republicans party to get the pension changes and other domestic reforms passed through Parliament, reported the Associated Press, or AP, news agency.

A previous effort to push through the pension changes resulted in a wave of worker strike action two years ago, before the government abandoned the move amid the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.

In his television interview, Macron said he was "open" to discussing the retirement age with unions and making potential amendments.

There has been increasing social unrest in France due to high inflation, which is running at 6.2 percent. On Oct 16, thousands took to the streets in Paris, protesting against soaring prices and voicing their resistance to the pension reforms.

Workers' strikes have hindered fuel refineries, leading to gasoline shortages. Some unions are pushing for a general strike, and there have been calls for more strike action next month.

Meanwhile, the French leader met with Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Wednesday amid tensions between the nations over energy supplies and the conflict in Ukraine.

In a social media post, Scholz described the meeting as "very good and important." He added: "Germany and France stand close together and are approaching the challenges together."

The French presidency said the talks were "constructive", and were centered on building a "close working relationship", AP reported.

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