On Wednesday, thousands of people joined a nationwide strike in protest in France of proposal by President Emmanuel Macron to increase the pension age . The proposal was advanced by a committee of lawmakers.
It is unclear if Macron will be able to secure a parliamentary majority for his proposal to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64 so that workers can contribute more to the system. If not, he might run the danger of unilaterally enforcing the unpopular changes.
The proposal would also delay receiving a full pension until age 67 for anyone who retires at age 64 without having put in at least 43 years of service.
Macron has emphasized the modifications as essential to his plan to boost economic competitiveness of France. Late on Wednesday, unions continued to argue against the proposal, urging lawmakers to reject it, and criticizing the government’s use of legal loopholes to advance the legislation as a risky “denial of democracy.”
Widespread discontent has been caused by economic difficulties throughout Western Europe. Wednesday saw a strike in Britain by teachers, internists, and employees of the public transportation system demanding better pay to keep up with rising costs. And Spain’s left-wing administration announced a “historic” agreement with labor unions to save its pension system by increasing social security contributions for those with higher incomes.
The Spanish solution is precisely what French unions want, but Macron has refused to raise taxes, claiming that doing so would reduce the competitiveness of the nation’s economy. The president has argued that since there will be an increase in the number of retirees from 16 to 21 million by 2050, something must be done to maintain France’s present levels of pension payments.