France’s pension protests put pressure on Macron
2023.02.07 08:18
France’s pension protests put pressure on Macron
By Ray Johnson
Budrigannews.com – Trade unions led a third wave of nationwide strikes on Tuesday in France against President Emmanuel Macron’s plans to make the French work longer before retirement, disrupting public transportation, schools, and refinery supplies.
The multi-sector walkouts and street protests on Tuesday are a test of Macron’s ability to enact change without a working majority in the National Assembly. They come a day after pension reform legislation began its bumpy passage through parliament.
According to the government, in order for one of the most generous pension systems in the industrialized world to continue operating in the black, people will need to put in an additional two years of work, typically until they reach the age of 64.
According to polls, the French spend the most time in retirement out of all OECD nations. This is a greatly valued benefit that a significant majority of people are reluctant to give up.
At a protest in the Riviera city of Nice, pensioner Bernard Chevalier said, “We’re worn out by work,” adding that he would continue to protest until the government dropped its plan to raise the retirement age.
“Retirement shouldn’t be a place to wait for death; it should be a second life.”
Olivier Dussopt, the minister of labor, said that change was needed and denied the opposition’s claims that the government was denying the scale of the nationwide street protests that took place last month.
The minister stated to RMC radio, “The pension system is loss-making, and if we care about the system, we must save it.”
The leader of the hardleft CGT union, Philippe Martinez, stated that Macron was engaging in “a dangerous game” by moving forward with a deeply unpopular reform at a time when household inflation is high.
The strike, according to TotalEnergies, had halted deliveries of refined oil products from its facilities. Only 3 gigawatts (GW) of electricity was produced, or about 4% of capacity.
By 2030, the government claims that the reform will enable annual gross savings of more than 18 billion euros.
Unions and opponents of the left contend that workers require protection and that the money can be obtained elsewhere, particularly from wealthy individuals.
Rachel Keke, the first cleaner in France to become a lawmaker, addressed a raucous debate in parliament on Monday. “Those of you who support this reform do not understand how difficult jobs are, and you do not understand what it is like to wake up with an aching back,” she said.
“You have no idea what it’s like to take medication throughout the workday. The left-leaning legislator continued to receive applause from the opposition benches, “You don’t know because it’s not a world you live in.”
Concessions for those who start working young are desired by conservative opponents, who need Macron’s support for a working majority in the National Assembly.
During the first two days of strike action in January, more than a million people marched in cities across France, intensifying public pressure on a government that insists it will defend the main planks of the reform.
More than 20,000 amendments, the vast majority from the Nupes alliance, are before lawmakers in parliament. However, the government may submit the reform to the Senate within two weeks because it has been added to an annual social security bill.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has made a concession to conservatives by allowing some people who start working early to retire early. However, lawmakers in Les Republicains (LR) are divided over whether the proposed starting age of 20 and 21 is low enough.
