{"id":5797,"date":"2023-04-15T16:53:53","date_gmt":"2023-04-15T16:53:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=5797"},"modified":"2023-04-15T16:53:53","modified_gmt":"2023-04-15T16:53:53","slug":"macrons-pension-plan-enacted-into-french-law-despite-protests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/europe\/france\/macrons-pension-plan-enacted-into-french-law-despite-protests\/2023\/04\/15\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"Macron\u2019s pension plan enacted into French law despite protests"},"content":{"rendered":"

PARIS<\/span> (Reuters)<\/span> –<\/span> French<\/span> President<\/span> Emmanuel<\/span> Macron’s<\/span> unpopular<\/span> plan<\/span> to<\/span> raise<\/span> the<\/span> retirement<\/span> age<\/span> from<\/span> 62<\/span> to<\/span> 64<\/span> in<\/span> France<\/span> went<\/span> into<\/span> effect<\/span> on<\/span> Saturday,<\/span> a<\/span> day<\/span> after<\/span> France’s<\/span> constitutional<\/span> body<\/span> approved<\/span> the<\/span> change.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> law<\/span> came<\/span> into<\/span> force<\/span> after<\/span> being<\/span> signed<\/span> by<\/span> President<\/span> Macron<\/span> and<\/span> published<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> Official<\/span> Gazette<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> French<\/span> Republic.<\/span> French<\/span> government<\/span> spokesman<\/span> Olivier<\/span> V\u00e9ran<\/span> said<\/span> the<\/span> approved<\/span> changes<\/span> would<\/span> go<\/span> into<\/span> effect<\/span> from<\/span> September.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>On<\/span> Friday,<\/span> the<\/span> Constitutional<\/span> Council<\/span> rejected<\/span> parts<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> government’s<\/span> pension<\/span> law<\/span> but<\/span> approved<\/span> a<\/span> higher<\/span> minimum<\/span> retirement<\/span> age<\/span> that<\/span> was<\/span> central<\/span> to<\/span> President<\/span> Macron’s<\/span> plan<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> focus<\/span> of<\/span> protests<\/span> by<\/span> his<\/span> opponents.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> nine-member<\/span> council’s<\/span> decision<\/span> resulted<\/span> in<\/span> months<\/span> of<\/span> tumultuous<\/span> debate<\/span> in<\/span> parliament<\/span> and<\/span> frenzy<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> streets.<\/span> After<\/span> the<\/span> verdict,<\/span> spontaneous<\/span> demonstrations<\/span> took<\/span> place<\/span> in<\/span> Paris<\/span> and<\/span> across<\/span> the<\/span> country.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>France’s<\/span> main<\/span> unions,<\/span> which<\/span> have<\/span> been<\/span> organizing<\/span> nationwide<\/span> protests<\/span> since<\/span> January<\/span> 12<\/span> in<\/span> hopes<\/span> of<\/span> stopping<\/span> the<\/span> plan,<\/span> have<\/span> vowed<\/span> to<\/span> continue<\/span> fighting<\/span> until<\/span> the<\/span> plan<\/span> is<\/span> withdrawn.<\/span> He<\/span> once<\/span> again<\/span> called<\/span> for<\/span> mass<\/span> protests<\/span> on<\/span> May<\/span> Day.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> government<\/span> insisted<\/span> he<\/span> would<\/span> have<\/span> to<\/span> work<\/span> two<\/span> more<\/span> years<\/span> before<\/span> he<\/span> was<\/span> entitled<\/span> to<\/span> a<\/span> pension<\/span> in<\/span> order<\/span> to<\/span> keep<\/span> the<\/span> pension<\/span> system<\/span> alive<\/span> as<\/span> the<\/span> population<\/span> ages.<\/span> Opponents<\/span> proposed<\/span> instead<\/span> raising<\/span> taxes<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> wealthy<\/span> and<\/span> employers,<\/span> saying<\/span> the<\/span> change<\/span> would<\/span> threaten<\/span> the<\/span> hard-won<\/span> social<\/span> safety<\/span> net.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Polls<\/span> show<\/span> that<\/span> Macron’s<\/span> approval<\/span> ratings<\/span> have<\/span> fallen<\/span> to<\/span> their<\/span> lowest<\/span> level<\/span> in<\/span> four<\/span> years.<\/span> The<\/span> centrist<\/span> president,<\/span> who<\/span> has<\/span> made<\/span> raising<\/span> the<\/span> retirement<\/span> age<\/span> a<\/span> priority<\/span> in<\/span> his<\/span> second<\/span> term,<\/span> is<\/span> scheduled<\/span> to<\/span> speak<\/span> on<\/span> national<\/span> television<\/span> on<\/span> Monday<\/span> night,<\/span> Macron’s<\/span> office<\/span> said.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“The<\/span> president’s<\/span> comments<\/span> are<\/span> very<\/span> much<\/span> awaited,”<\/span> said<\/span> Veran,<\/span> a<\/span> government<\/span> spokesman,<\/span> who<\/span> said<\/span> the<\/span> move<\/span> aims<\/span> to<\/span> defuse<\/span> domestic<\/span> tensions<\/span> and<\/span> clarify<\/span> decisions<\/span> taken<\/span> in<\/span> recent<\/span> months<\/span> on<\/span> pension<\/span> reform.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Macron<\/span> was<\/span> first<\/span> elected<\/span> in<\/span> 2017<\/span> and<\/span> promised<\/span> to<\/span> make<\/span> the<\/span> French<\/span> economy<\/span> more<\/span> competitive.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Since<\/span> then,<\/span> his<\/span> government<\/span> has<\/span> made<\/span> it<\/span> easier<\/span> to<\/span> hire<\/span> and<\/span> fire<\/span> workers,<\/span> cut<\/span> corporate<\/span> taxes,<\/span> and<\/span> made<\/span> it<\/span> more<\/span> difficult<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> unemployed<\/span> to<\/span> claim<\/span> benefits.<\/span><\/p>\n

“A<\/span> political<\/span> solution<\/span> is<\/span> the<\/span> only<\/span> solution<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> Syrian<\/span> crisis,”<\/span> the<\/span> minister<\/span> said,<\/span> according<\/span> to<\/span> a<\/span> Saudi<\/span> foreign<\/span> ministry<\/span> statement<\/span> on<\/span> Saturday,<\/span> emphasizing<\/span> the<\/span> importance<\/span> of<\/span> Arab<\/span> leadership<\/span> in<\/span> efforts<\/span> to<\/span> end<\/span> the<\/span> crisis.<\/span> The<\/span> two<\/span> leaders<\/span> agreed<\/span> to<\/span> “establish<\/span> the<\/span> necessary<\/span> mechanisms”<\/span> and<\/span> “conduct<\/span> intensified<\/span> consultations<\/span> among<\/span> Arab<\/span> countries<\/span> to<\/span> ensure<\/span> the<\/span> success<\/span> of<\/span> these<\/span> efforts.”<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Ministers<\/span> also<\/span> condemned<\/span> the<\/span> recent<\/span> attack<\/span> by<\/span> Israeli<\/span> police<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> Al-Aqsa<\/span> Mosque<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> Old<\/span> City<\/span> of<\/span> Jerusalem,<\/span> stating<\/span> that<\/span> it<\/span> “underlines<\/span> the<\/span> centrality<\/span> and<\/span> priority<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Palestinian<\/span> cause<\/span> and<\/span> undermines<\/span> the<\/span> two-state<\/span> solution.”<\/span> It<\/span> condemned<\/span> the<\/span> practice,\u201d<\/span> said<\/span> the<\/span> statement,<\/span> a<\/span> Palestinian<\/span> sovereign<\/span> state<\/span> with<\/span> its<\/span> capital<\/span> in<\/span> East<\/span> Jerusalem,<\/span> based<\/span> on<\/span> its<\/span> pre-1967<\/span> borders.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Also<\/span> on<\/span> Thursday,<\/span> Syrian<\/span> Foreign<\/span> Minister<\/span> Faisal<\/span> Miqdad<\/span> arrived<\/span> in<\/span> Algeria<\/span> on<\/span> an<\/span> official<\/span> visit<\/span> to<\/span> discuss<\/span> “strengthening<\/span> bilateral<\/span> ties”<\/span> and<\/span> “coordinating<\/span> positions<\/span> between<\/span> the<\/span> two<\/span> countries”<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> “Arab<\/span> and<\/span> international<\/span> arena,”<\/span> Syrian<\/span> state<\/span> media<\/span> said.<\/span> reported.<\/span> Algeria<\/span> is<\/span> one<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> few<\/span> Arab<\/span> countries<\/span> that<\/span> has<\/span> not<\/span> cut<\/span> ties<\/span> with<\/span> Syria<\/span> during<\/span> the<\/span> conflict.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PARIS (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron’s unpopular plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 in France went into effect on Saturday, a day after France’s constitutional body approved the change. The law came into force after being signed by President Macron and published in the Official Gazette of the French Republic. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5798,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[2463,280,1567,1568],"tags":[3053,3056,3917,3918,3919,3920,3921,3922,3923,202,3924,1023,3925,1502,3926,2846,3927,2847,2848,2858],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/MACRONPLAN.webp","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5797"}],"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=5797"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5797\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5799,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5797\/revisions\/5799"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}