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President Emmanuel Macron’s government last month invoked Article 49.3 to push through reforms without a vote by MPs – sparking protests across France. He will now sign the reform bill into law within the next 48 hours, according to French media reports.
France’s top constitutional court has approved a controversial plan to raise France’s pension age.
French The Constitutional Council has ruled in favor of the government’s reforms, which would raise the pension age from 62 to 64.
The plan sparked widespread protests after the presidency Emmanuel Macron’s Last month, the government invoked Article 49.3 to push through reforms without a vote by MPs.
France’s mandatory retirement age is 62, well below many of its European neighbours. The UK is 66, Germany and Italy are 67, and Spain is 65.
Mr Macron has described the reforms as “necessary” to save France’s pension system, which he will now sign into law in the coming days.
According to the French labor minister, the law will come into force in early September.
However, the country’s trade unions have urged Mr Macron not to sign the bill – suggesting protests against the plan will continue.
Nearly 400,000 protesters took to the streets across France on Thursday in a final stand against reforms.
The country faces weeks of demonstrations over the proposals. At times the protests have turned violent, with demonstrators clashing with police.
On Thursday, protesters stormed the headquarters of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), which also represents brands including Dior, Fendi and Givenchy.
Demonstrations have also taken place in towns and cities across the country – including in Rennes, where a Mercedes was set on fire.
What is the retirement age in France – how has it changed?
France’s mandatory retirement age is 62, well below many of its European neighbours.
French workers can receive a state pension from the age of 62, but the amount received will be reduced if the person has not paid the required amount of contributions.
At age 67, they are entitled to a full state pension regardless of their contributions.
Mr Macron’s reforms would raise the state pension age for workers to 64.
This will be done progressively over three months per year, from September 2023 to September 2030.
By 2027, the number of years for which contributions must be made to receive a full state pension will increase from 42 to 43 years.
Hopes of blocking pensions reform come to an end
It is a deeply disappointing decision by France’s constitutional council for those who have fought long and hard, taking part in the weekly demonstrations, and those who strike without pay.
This is the end of the road. From a legal standpoint, it’s an open thread.
President Macron may have escaped a legal crisis, but he still faces a political crisis because there are many, many angry people who say their voices are not being heard and that the French government is not listening to them.
They’re also disappointed because not only will the pension age be raised from 62 to 64, but they won’t be having a referendum and they’re calling for a referendum so they can have a voice and they can have a vote .
President Macron says there are no winners or losers, but those involved in the strike action at the protest where I am now in central Paris say they will continue to strike and that their determination to stop is not over yet.
That means France is the loser, as the city continues to be plagued by demonstrations, protests, potential violence and paralyzed by strikes.
But French workers reacted angrily to the proposals, and unions take great pride in France’s pension system.
People close to pension age are also outraged, saying the changes will disrupt their retirement plans.
What is Macron’s argument?
France’s generous welfare state has long weighed heavily on the economy and workforce.
National debt at 113.4% of GDP in Q3 2022 is higher than the UK (100.2%), Germany (66.6%) and similar to struggling economies such as Spain (115.6%) and Portugal (120.1%).
It also means that the workforce is shrinking. In France, there are only 1.7 workers for every pensioner, down from 2.1 in 2000.
“This is Macron’s flagship policy,” David Bell, emeritus professor of French government and politics at the University of Leeds, told Sky News.
“He wants to push it through before he leaves office at the end of this term.
“But the problem is not the immediate crisis – it’s the future burden based on economic projections. It’s the opposite of how politics works, which is to focus on immediate, high-profile problems.
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“His argument is that unless these reforms are made and the French working life is extended, the country will not be able to afford it.”
Mr Macron argued of the strike on French television: “This reform is not a luxury, it is not a pleasure, it is a necessity. The longer we wait, [the deficit] will get worse. “
What’s happening now?
The Constitutional Council, France’s top constitutional court, has now given the green light for Macron’s government to move forward with the plans.
The committee is made up of nine people – three appointed by the President, three by the Speaker of the National Assembly (the lower house of Parliament) and three by the President of the Senate (the upper house of Parliament).
Protesters storm Louis Vuitton headquarters
Primarily former lawyers, businessmen, senior civil servants and former politicians, they oversee the final stages of ratifying any new law — and consider whether it is constitutional.
There is one last mechanism that unions can use to block passage of the bill – a referendum – but for that they must get the approval of the council and 10% of voters within the next nine months.
It has not been used successfully since its launch in 2015.
The government hopes approval of the plan will end protests across the country. But there’s no guarantee the outage will end.
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