{"id":5768,"date":"2023-04-14T15:21:37","date_gmt":"2023-04-14T15:21:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=5768"},"modified":"2023-04-14T15:48:08","modified_gmt":"2023-04-14T15:48:08","slug":"macrons-pension-reform-faces-major-constitutional-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/magazine\/health-and-lifestyle\/macrons-pension-reform-faces-major-constitutional-test\/2023\/04\/14\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"Macron’s pension reform faces major constitutional test"},"content":{"rendered":"

PARIS (AFP)-France’s<\/span> Supreme<\/span> Constitutional<\/span> Court<\/span> is<\/span> set<\/span> to<\/span> decide<\/span> whether<\/span> to<\/span> approve<\/span> President<\/span> Emmanuel<\/span> Macron’s<\/span> highly<\/span> unpopular<\/span> pension<\/span> reform<\/span> bill.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> 45-year-old<\/span> centrist<\/span> leader<\/span> is<\/span> facing<\/span> a<\/span> major<\/span> domestic<\/span> crisis<\/span> over<\/span> his<\/span> major<\/span> pension<\/span> reform<\/span> that<\/span> will<\/span> raise<\/span> the<\/span> minimum<\/span> retirement<\/span> age<\/span> from<\/span> his<\/span> 62<\/span> to<\/span> his<\/span> 64.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Some<\/span> demonstrations<\/span> have<\/span> turned<\/span> violent<\/span> since<\/span> Macron’s<\/span> government<\/span> last<\/span> month<\/span> exercised<\/span> its<\/span> legal<\/span> executive<\/span> powers<\/span> to<\/span> bring<\/span> the<\/span> bill<\/span> to<\/span> parliament<\/span> without<\/span> a<\/span> vote,<\/span> but<\/span> it<\/span> has<\/span> since<\/span> criticized<\/span> allegations<\/span> of<\/span> undemocratic<\/span> behavior<\/span> by<\/span> its<\/span> opponents.<\/span> is<\/span> causing<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>A<\/span> green<\/span> light<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> Constitutional<\/span> Council<\/span> is<\/span> the<\/span> final<\/span> hurdle<\/span> for<\/span> President<\/span> Macron<\/span> to<\/span> approve<\/span> the<\/span> law<\/span> change<\/span> and<\/span> ensure<\/span> its<\/span> implementation<\/span> by<\/span> the<\/span> end<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> year.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>But<\/span> trade<\/span> unions<\/span> and<\/span> opposition<\/span> politicians<\/span> want<\/span> to<\/span> reject<\/span> the<\/span> reforms<\/span> that<\/span> President<\/span> Macron<\/span> put<\/span> at<\/span> the<\/span> center<\/span> of<\/span> his<\/span> second<\/span> reelection<\/span> campaign<\/span> last<\/span> year.<\/span> About<\/span> 380,000<\/span> people<\/span> took<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> streets<\/span> across<\/span> the<\/span> country<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> last<\/span> day<\/span> of<\/span> union-led<\/span> law-breaking<\/span> actions<\/span> since<\/span> January,<\/span> according<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> interior<\/span> ministry,<\/span> putting<\/span> the<\/span> number<\/span> at<\/span> more<\/span> than<\/span> 1<\/span> million.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Both<\/span> numbers<\/span> have<\/span> fallen<\/span> since<\/span> the<\/span> peak<\/span> of<\/span> protests<\/span> in<\/span> March,<\/span> when<\/span> cities<\/span> across<\/span> France<\/span> held<\/span> their<\/span> biggest<\/span> rallies<\/span> in<\/span> decades.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Momentum<\/span> has<\/span> waned<\/span> in<\/span> recent<\/span> weeks<\/span> as<\/span> they<\/span> seem<\/span> tired<\/span> of<\/span> sacrificing<\/span> a<\/span> day’s<\/span> wages<\/span> for<\/span> strikes<\/span> and<\/span> demonstrations,<\/span> but<\/span> unions<\/span> say<\/span> their<\/span> resolve<\/span> is<\/span> unwavering.<\/span><\/p>\n

Paris<\/span> police<\/span> have<\/span> banned<\/span> demonstrations<\/span> around<\/span> Paris’s<\/span> Constitutional<\/span> Council<\/span> until<\/span> Saturday<\/span> morning.<\/span> The<\/span> court<\/span> will<\/span> make<\/span> two<\/span> decisions<\/span> by<\/span> the<\/span> end<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> day.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>First,<\/span> the<\/span> nine-member<\/span> council<\/span> will<\/span> decide<\/span> whether<\/span> the<\/span> pension<\/span> reform<\/span> plan,<\/span> which<\/span> was<\/span> formulated<\/span> as<\/span> the<\/span> social<\/span> budget<\/span> revision<\/span> law,<\/span> is<\/span> constitutional.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Experts<\/span> believe<\/span> the<\/span> most<\/span> likely<\/span> scenario<\/span> is<\/span> a<\/span> partial<\/span> approval<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> bill.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>That<\/span> means<\/span> it<\/span> may<\/span> drop<\/span> some<\/span> details<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> law<\/span> as<\/span> inappropriate<\/span> for<\/span> this<\/span> kind<\/span> of<\/span> legislation,<\/span> but<\/span> focus<\/span> on<\/span> its<\/span> core<\/span> elements,<\/span> such<\/span> as<\/span> changing<\/span> the<\/span> legal<\/span> retirement<\/span> age.<\/span> There<\/span> is<\/span> a<\/span> possibility.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Second,<\/span> the<\/span> court<\/span> is<\/span> set<\/span> to<\/span> consider<\/span> his<\/span> two<\/span> separate<\/span> motions<\/span> by<\/span> the<\/span> left-wing<\/span> opposition<\/span> seeking<\/span> a<\/span> possible<\/span> referendum<\/span> on<\/span> an<\/span> alternative<\/span> law<\/span> limiting<\/span> retirement<\/span> age<\/span> to<\/span> her<\/span> 62.<\/span> Whether<\/span> or<\/span> not<\/span> we<\/span> get<\/span> the<\/span> go-ahead<\/span> remains<\/span> to<\/span> be<\/span> seen,<\/span> but<\/span> the<\/span> road<\/span> to<\/span> a<\/span> true<\/span> referendum<\/span> will<\/span> be<\/span> a<\/span> long<\/span> one.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>For<\/span> each<\/span> vote,<\/span> the<\/span> opposition<\/span> will<\/span> need<\/span> to<\/span> collect<\/span> about<\/span> 4.8<\/span> million<\/span> signatures<\/span> over<\/span> nine<\/span> months<\/span> from<\/span> voters<\/span> supporting<\/span> its<\/span> proposal.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Also,<\/span> a<\/span> referendum<\/span> will<\/span> only<\/span> take<\/span> place<\/span> if<\/span> both<\/span> houses<\/span> of<\/span> Congress<\/span> refuse<\/span> to<\/span> consider<\/span> the<\/span> bill<\/span> within<\/span> the<\/span> next<\/span> six<\/span> months,<\/span> which<\/span> is<\/span> considered<\/span> unlikely.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Macron,<\/span> who<\/span> has<\/span> repeatedly<\/span> refused<\/span> requests<\/span> to<\/span> meet<\/span> with<\/span> union<\/span> leaders<\/span> in<\/span> recent<\/span> weeks,<\/span> said<\/span> he<\/span> would<\/span> invite<\/span> workers’<\/span> representatives<\/span> to<\/span> meet<\/span> as<\/span> soon<\/span> as<\/span> the<\/span> court’s<\/span> decision<\/span> was<\/span> made<\/span> public.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>CFDT<\/span> union<\/span> leader<\/span> Laurent<\/span> Berger<\/span> said<\/span> that<\/span> if<\/span> the<\/span> bill<\/span> is<\/span> only<\/span> partially<\/span> approved,<\/span> it<\/span> should<\/span> be<\/span> reconsidered<\/span> in<\/span> parliament.<\/span> Opinion<\/span> polls<\/span> show<\/span> that<\/span> about<\/span> two-thirds<\/span> of<\/span> French<\/span> people<\/span> oppose<\/span> changes<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> pension<\/span> system,<\/span> which<\/span> critics<\/span> say<\/span> is<\/span> unfair<\/span> to<\/span> women<\/span> and<\/span> low-income<\/span> workers<\/span> who<\/span> start<\/span> working<\/span> young.<\/span> increase.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> government<\/span> argues<\/span> that<\/span> it<\/span> is<\/span> essential<\/span> to<\/span> prevent<\/span> the<\/span> system<\/span> from<\/span> running<\/span> into<\/span> deep<\/span> reds<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> coming<\/span> decades<\/span> and<\/span> to<\/span> keep<\/span> France<\/span> in<\/span> line<\/span> with<\/span> the<\/span> rest<\/span> of<\/span> Europe,<\/span> where<\/span> the<\/span> average<\/span> retirement<\/span> age<\/span> is<\/span> higher<\/span> than<\/span> usual.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PARIS (AFP)-France’s Supreme Constitutional Court is set to decide whether to approve President Emmanuel Macron’s highly unpopular pension reform bill. The 45-year-old centrist leader is facing a major domestic crisis over his major pension reform that will raise the minimum retirement age from his 62 to his 64. Some demonstrations have turned violent since Macron’s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5773,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[562,280,1568,1585,2463],"tags":[2772,2858,3852,3853,3854,3855,1501,1502,1767],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/231320181225f49.jpg","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5768"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5768"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5768\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5774,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5768\/revisions\/5774"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}