1.27m protest Macron pension reform plan
Source:China Daily Published:2023-02-22 Hist:
Rallies held across France, police and demonstrators clash in Paris
Around 1.27 million people took to the streets in France on Tuesday, according to the Interior Ministry, to protest against President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform plan.
Macron's plan would progressively raise the legal retirement age from 62 to 64 years by 2030 and put in place a guaranteed minimum pension. Macron defended the reform plan on Monday, saying it is "essential", given forecasts of deficits in the coming years.
The number of striking workers on Tuesday was slightly more than the first nationwide demonstration on Jan 19. The strikes disrupted public transportation, schools and other public services around the country.
French daily Le Figaro reported that clashes took place between demonstrators and police in Paris, with tear gas and smoke bombs fired. Police confirmed that 23 people were arrested during the demonstration in Paris for allegedly attacking security forces.
French unions on Tuesday called for more strikes and protests on Feb 7 and 11, to try to force the government to retract its pension reform plan announced earlier this month.
"The government must hear the massive rejection of this project and withdraw it," Patricia Drevon from the Force Ouvriere union said on Tuesday evening.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said on social media that she had heard the "questions and doubts" of those who reject the reform, but insisted on the government's "responsibility" to carry out the changes.
Minister of Public Action and Accounts Gabriel Attal ruled out suspending the pension reform project. "If we do nothing, we will have a big problem paying pensions in the years to come. There will be 20 million pensioners to pay," he said on France 2 TV channel.
Wang Shuo, a professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University's School of International Relations and Diplomacy, said the aging population trend is becoming an "unbearable weight" for Europe, which has led to increased fiscal burdens in many countries with high welfare bills.
As it is not realistic to solve the population problem by increasing the fertility rate, raising the retirement is one way to deal with the aging problem, he said.
"The reform in France is hard indeed. The French public, though largely convinced of the need for necessary reforms, are prone to violent confrontations when their own cheese is touched," he said. With only four and a half years left in his second term, Macron will need to press ahead with reforms if he is to achieve his political ambitions, Wang said.
According to data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, France has the lowest qualifying age for a state pension among major European economies.
A poll by OpinionWay released on Monday showed 61 percent of French people support the protest movement.
He Yun, an associate professor at Hunan University's School of Public Administration, said the French pension system appears to be unsustainable. Not only does the government channel a lot of public funds into keeping the system running every year, but the aging of society means that by 2040, there will only be 1.3 workers available to finance one pensioner.
"Macron tried to reform the pension system three years ago but failed. Now, it is Macron's second and final term. It will be his last opportunity to push the pension reform through. That's why he is not backing down, at least not before the bill was voted on in the parliament," she said.
However, she is pessimistic that the reform will be pushed through.
"The French people have fought for other work-related rights since the French Revolution in 1789, and will continue to do so today," she said. "So we are expected to see more and larger protests in the coming weeks."
Xinhua and agencies contributed to this story.
