Complete Details Of Why President Macron Raised Retirement Age

On Thursday, March 16, French President Emmanuel Macron used a special constitutional powers to get his plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 through the lower house of parliament.

In the European nation of 68 million people, the pensions overhaul has been met with widespread protests and strikes. The issue is seen as extremely contentious.

The plans were approved on Thursday by the French Senate, but they were scheduled for a vote in the National Assembly, the lower house, where their approval was uncertain.

Instead, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne informed the assembly that the government would invoke French Constitutional Article 49.3.

The Renaissance Party of Macron contends that reform of the pension system is required to ensure its long-term viability. France’s Pensions Advisory Council says that between 2022 and 2032, it will have a deficit of 10 billion euros ($10.73 billion).

However, public opinion polls indicate that industrial action was supported by the majority of people to oppose the changes, which include requiring workers to contribute to the system for 43 years in order to qualify for a full pension.

But Lancaster University senior lecturer Renaud Foucart says that lawmakers are unlikely to vote to dissolve the National Assembly and hold new elections.
After that, the measure would most likely be approved by the constitutional court.

Renaud Foucart stated that, the government was focused on the upcoming national election, which will not feature Macron. As a result of the change, he will bear “every responsibility” for the reforms rather than the legislators who vote in favor of them.

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Renaud Foucart added that the change was viewed as particularly contentious due to the fact that many people who were likely to retire at 62 were manual workers or had started working earlier.

Laurent Berger, secretary general of the CFDT union, stated on Twitter,

“By resorting to [Article] 49.3 the government demonstrates that it does not have a majority to approve the two-year postponement of the legal retirement age. The political compromise failed. Workers must be listened to when it is their work being acted upon.”

During the elections in June 2022, Macron’s centrist alliance lost its parliamentary majority. Since then, his government has used special constitutional powers to pass the 2023 budget in the National Assembly, surviving a vote of no confidence.

In February, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire stated that the reform was a “need” to achieve financial equilibrium by 2030. He stated at the time that the government had made concessions, such as lowering the proposed retirement age to 64 from 65; as well as that he was certain that they would win a majority in parliament.