“Senate” opens the gates of hell on Macron… raising the retirement age to 64
After a sharp parliamentary battle with the left, the French Senate, dominated by the right, passed a key article in a bill to amend the pension system.
The article on the pension system, which was approved on Wednesday night, raises the retirement age from 62 to 64 years, in a step that increases the waves of protests against French President Emmanuel Macron.
A total of 201 members voted to raise the retirement age, while 115 voted against it.
Raising the retirement age is a plan Macron had originally promised but met with huge calls by French unions to protest.
France has been in the midst of a wave of protests seeking to force President Emmanuel Macron to abandon his plan to raise the minimum retirement age.
On Tuesday, more than a million people in France took to the streets to demonstrate against pension reforms, while the French Confederation of Labor reported that 5.3 million workers went on strike as a protest.
The biggest protests yet against Macron’s pension reform plans came as the Senate debated the proposals before passing them on Thursday.
“The trucks were unable to reach any of the country’s six main refineries, causing severe disruption to fuel supplies due to a wave of labor protests that has halted the transport of petrol and diesel to gas stations in France.”
Pension reform is a key part of President Macron’s plan in France.
Along with raising the retirement age, France’s center-right government wants to increase the minimum monthly pension to about €1,200 ($1,300).
According to the proposed system, a pensioner will receive a full pension without deductions upon reaching the age of 67, regardless of the number of years of his insurance contribution.
Many French people work beyond 62 years if their working years are not enough to earn a full pension.
According to a recent poll conducted in France by the pollster IFO, nearly two-thirds of French people oppose pension reforms, and the poll showed that the opposition is stronger among those under 35.
However, the poll found that only about one-third of the French public believes that the protests have stalled pension reform.
