January 2023
24Jan

France to move ahead on pension reform despite protests

The French government on Monday said it would move forward with a pension reform plan that has been met with fierce opposition from unions, left-wing parties, and the general public. The plan envisages raising the retirement age gradually from 62 to 64 by 2030, and increasing the number of years needed to pay into the system to obtain a full pension from 42 to 43. All people in retirement in France receive a state pension — currently around €1,400 ($1,500) per...

January 24, 2023
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20Jan

More than 1m march in France amid strikes over plan to raise retirement age

More than 1 million people have taken part in demonstrations across France as transport, schools and refineries were hit by strikes in protest at Emmanuel Macron’s unpopular plans to raise the retirement age by two years to 64. The interior ministry said 1.12 million people protested nationwide on Thursday, with 80,000 taking part in the biggest rally in Paris. Trade unions said the figure was even higher. Police made arrests on the edges of the march in central Paris amid clashes...

January 20, 2023
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19Jan

France comes to standstill in strike over pension reform

Trains ground to a halt in France on Thursday, schools were shut and refinery shipments blocked as workers walked off their jobs in an attempt to derail the government’s plans to raise the retirement age by two years to 64. The nationwide day of strikes and protests is a major test for President Emmanuel Macron, who says his flagship reform, which opinion polls show is very unpopular, is vital to ensure the pension system does not go bankrupt. The challenge for...

January 19, 2023
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11Jan

France unveils plan to raise retirement age by two years to 64

France's government has proposed raising the legal retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030 in a major reform to the pension system. PM Elisabeth Borne said the changes were necessary to prevent a major deficit in the system in the future. Reforming pensions was one of President Emmanuel Macron's main promises when he was first elected in 2017. But the details immediately triggered an angry response from the unions, with plans for strikes on 19 January. Ms Borne's handling of an explosive...

January 11, 2023
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10Jan

The 30-year battle to reform France’s pension system

President Emmanuel Macron plans Tuesday to defy threats of mass protests in launching yet another bid to reform France’s debt-ridden pension system by forcing the French to work longer. In 2019, his attempt to replace dozens of separate regimes with a single points-based system and to push back the age for a full pension from 62 to 64 sparked the longest transport strike in decades. AFP looks back at the 30-year battle by various French governments of the left and right...

January 10, 2023
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09Jan

France. Macron’s Pension Reform May Get Nod From Opposition Republicans

French President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to increase the retirement age to preserve the financial balance of the national pension system may get the backing of the Republican opposition party, its leader Eric Ciotti said. An overhaul that would progressively raise the retirement age from 62 currently to 64 in 2032 may be acceptable, the president of the conservative party said in an interview published Sunday in Le Journal du Dimanche. Raising the smallest minimum pensions will be key to clinching...

January 9, 2023
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05Jan

France’s African ex-soldiers win last battle – over pensions

Some of the last survivors in France from a colonial-era infantry corps that recruited tens of thousands of African soldiers to fight in French wars around the world will be able to live out their final days with family members back in Africa after a French government U-turn on their pension rights. The decision to make claiming their pensions easier follows a years-long campaign on behalf of the “tirailleurs Sénégalais,” who were recruited to fight from Senegal and other former...

January 5, 2023
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03Jan

France signals flexibility in face of pension reform resistance

The French government said Tuesday it could be flexible on its plan to raise the retirement age to 65, part of a hugely controversial pension reform project pushed by President Emmanuel Macron. Speaking ahead of crunch talks with unions that have fiercely resisted any change, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne told FranceInfo radio that the age of 65 is "not set in stone". She added that "other solutions" could help the government reach its target of balancing the pensions system...

January 3, 2023
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December 2022
12Dec

Macron postpones French pension overhaul to January

French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that he was pushing back his presentation of a major pensions overhaul denounced by labour unions, citing recent leadership changes at two opposition parties. Both the Greens and the right-wing Republicans have elected new chiefs, and Macron said he would consult with them before unveiling details of the major reform on January 10, instead of Thursday as planned. “This will give a few more weeks for those… who have taken over to discuss some of...

December 12, 2022
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09Dec

French government prepares high-stakes pension reform

The French government is consulting unions and potential allies to see if it could get a highly unpopular pension reform adopted by a fragmented parliament without causing mass protests that could paralyse the country. Details of the reform are expected to be unveiled on Dec. 15 but President Emmanuel Macron has made clear the French will have to work longer, with legal retirement age potentially pushed by as much as three years to 65. Opinion polls show the vast majority...

December 9, 2022
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