French PM Says Increasing Pension Age Not up for Discussion

French President Emmanuel Macron is pushing for a reform package that raises the minimum retirement age from the current 62 years old to 64 as part of the plan to secure the future financing of the pension system of France.

This triggered protests against the proposed reforms which brought over more than a million citizens to the streets in France last January 19.

Since then, the government eased some of the proposed measures. This would include special consideration for citizens that began working at a young age and mothers that forego their careers to care for children and those that invested in further education.

Despite this, Prime Minister Elisabeth Born has mentioned that the headline age limit of 64 is not for deliberation.

“This is now non-negotiable,” she mentioned.

Unions have welcomed the government’s willingness to discuss the proposed plan but have insisted that the 64-year-old would have to be dropped.

Eight big unions in France have called the reform”unfair” and have united and stated that they intend to “mobilize even more massively” in their next rallies.

The unions have reported more than two million people turnout during their last protest.

“It’s looking like there will be even more people,” mentioned Celine Verzeletti, who is a member of the union CGT’s confederation leadership.

Aside from protest marches, unions called for widespread strike action, with public transport and railway services predicted to be affected. Unions have also called for more strike actions in February which would encompass power stations, refineries, and commercial ports.

Source: Philstar