World News | Despite protests, Macron insists on need for pension reform

PARIS, March 10 (AP) In a letter to trade unions released Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron insisted on the need to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 to keep workers The French pension system is financially sustainable for the next few years.

The move comes after more than 1 million demonstrators marched through French towns this week as train and subway drivers, refinery workers and others began open-ended strikes against plans by the centrist government.

Read also | Cryptocurrency crash: Traditional U.S. bank Silvergate Capital collapses after stock plunge.

The union called for more protests on Saturday. They demanded that the bill, which is being debated in the Senate this week, be withdrawn.

According to the letter provided by the president’s office, Macron said he chose to “let the French work longer” because other options he rejected would involve “reduced pensions, higher taxes or placing the financial burden on our children and grandchildren.”

Read also | Indian teenagers in Singapore charged with cheating at banks, abetting money laundering.

Opinion polls consistently show a majority of French people against the change. Lawmakers on the left argue that corporations and the wealthy should fund more of the pension system.

Macron also recalled that the measure was a key pledge of his presidential campaign last year, adding that he had made a concession by agreeing to lower the age limit to 64 from the originally planned 65.

“You have strongly expressed your dissent,” Macron wrote to the union. “I would not underestimate the discontent … and the anxiety expressed by many French who fear they will never receive any pension.”

Meanwhile, the government on Friday called for a special procedure in the Senate to speed up debate by organizing a vote on the entire bill, rather than on each amendment and clause.

The Senate, dominated by Republican members, is expected to approve the bill. Conservative senators have been pushing for years to raise the minimum retirement age.

If the bill is approved by the Senate, it will continue through France’s complex legislative process next week. (Associated Press)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)