France raises retirement age despite public opposition

French President Emmanuel Macron used his executive power and raised the retirement age from 62 to 64, despite facing massive protests from labor unions and the public since January this year.

Pension reforms
Macron’s campaign for the second term included promises of raising the retirement age to bolster the shrinking pension fund.

France is facing a low birth rate and has an aging population.

Opposition
The pension reform bill sparked a wave of protests across the country, affecting transport services and leaving piles of garbage—roughly 7,000 tons—unattended in Paris.

Lawmakers in France’s lower chamber sang the national anthem in protest when Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne announced Macron had invoked his constitutional power, which would allow the measure to pass without a vote.

Tens of thousands of people are protesting against the government since January in Paris, Marseille, Lyon and other major cities.

French lawmakers opposing the measure are already planning a no-confidence vote that can reverse Macron’s retirement age hike.