The pension reform will be presented on January 10, 2023, by Elisabeth Borne. The reform will include raising the retirement age, considering the hardship and long careers. For the government, “we are not reforming pensions to be popular but to be responsible”.
On January 10, 2023, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne will publicly present the pension reform before it goes to the Council of Ministers on January 23. In the meantime, millions of French people are wondering about their future. And the least we can say is that, a few days before the announcement, there is a lot of doubt. First, as far as the retirement age is concerned, nothing has yet been decided between a retirement at 64 or 65. The government wants to raise the legal retirement age, but for whom? The generations 1961 to 1969 would be concerned. To be clear, the minimum working time should be moved back by 4 months per year. For example, an employee born in 1965 will have to work until the age of 63 years and 8 months and will be able to retire at full rate in 2027. Other key points such as the introduction of a minimum pension (about 1,200 euros), the consideration of long careers, and the abolition of certain special schemes are still under discussion. The verdict is expected on January 10.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s government attempts to revive his economic reform drive and score a major political victory this week with a launch of the pension system’s overhaul in the face of vehement trade union opposition.
With one of the lowest retirement ages in the industrialized world, France also spends more than most other countries on pensions at nearly 14% of economic output, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The reform’s passage through parliament will not be easy. Macron lacks a working majority and will need to win over several dozen conservative lawmakers or use his constitutional powers to bypass the assembly, which would enrage the opposition and further aggravate the public.
The government says reform is necessary to keep the pension system’s finances out of the red in the coming years, but a success could also be a political game-changer for Macron after he lost control of parliament last year.
“The aim is to balance the accounts without raising taxes or cutting pensions. Various options are on the table, but all include raising the retirement age,” government spokesman Olivier Veran told journalists.
“If the retirement age is pushed back to 65 or 64, the CFDT will do what we’ve said we’ll do, we will resist this reform by calling on workers to mobilize,” CFDT head Laurent Berger said last week.
Desperate to keep social tensions in check, the government has spent tens of billions of euros to soften the blow of record power and gas prices, which has kept French inflation lower than in most other EU countries.
Although recent strike action has been limited to specific sectors, such as refineries and airlines, outrage over pension reform could easily spark far broader protests.
The yellow vest movement, largely dormant since violent anti-Macron street protests in 2018 and 2019, held a march through central Paris on Saturday, though turnout was low.
Polls show pension reform is unpopular. However, the government nonetheless believes that the public mood is more inclined towards resignation than anger compared with 2018, Veran, the government spokesman, said.
