Mass protests in France against initiatives to raise the retirement age

Protesters hold placards during a trade union march in Bordeaux, southern France 

Photo: AFP

French President Emmanuel Macron has taken the initiative to raise the retirement age of civil servants. There were massive protests in the country today on Thursday in protest. Mass strikes and protests by labor unions in France have severely disrupted intercity and commuter train services.

In France, a new pension bill is pending in parliament. It has proposed to increase the retirement age of government employees from 62 years to 64 years. Many schools and government services were closed during the protests against it today. One in five flights at Orly Airport in Paris has been cancelled. Only two driverless lines of the Paris Metro are operating normally.

Thousands of people are believed to have participated in the large-scale protests in Paris and other cities. Under the outline proposed by Prime Minister Elizabeth Bourne earlier this month, workers would have to work for 43 years to be eligible for a full pension. Currently it is 42 years.

International survey and market research organization IFOP conducted a survey this week. It said the government's reform, a key measure to protect France's share-out pension system, has been unpopular with the public. 68 percent people opposed it.

Unions across the country, including so-called 'pro-reform' unions, condemned the move. Leftists and far-rights in the National Assembly (National Assembly) also opposed it. Communist Party leader Fabian Russell said last Tuesday that the walls of the president's official residence will shake on Thursday (today).

Because President Emmanuel Makhon's Renaissance Party does not have a majority in the Assembly. Therefore, the president must get the support of 60 or more members of the conservative Republican Party to pass the proposal. Although in principle they are in favor of pension reform, some of them have warned that they may vote against it.

The parliamentary process on the bill is expected to take several weeks. During this period, Emmanuel Macron may face opposition campaigns. The worst outcome for the government could be a strike at transport, hospitals and fuel depots that would paralyze the country.

Political analysts agree that it is difficult to understand the public mood at the moment. Whether this movement will be enough to force the president to back down is impossible to predict. If it does, it will put an end to any serious reforms in his second term.