[Photo of Palais Bourbon. Photo Credit to Wikimedia]

Contrary to the union’s opposition, recent changes to the state pension age in France sparked debate on the legitimacy and equality of the situation.

Announced on 26 October 2022 and signed into law on 15 April 2023, the French President Emmaneul Macron raised the state pension age from 62 to 64.

Macron defied three months of protests from the solicitation of the union.

Starting from early January lasting until late April, the streets of France were crowded with approximately 1.27 million protestors.

However, these civilian riots quickly evolved to militant protests as Macron continued to push forth.

There are two main contributions to this chaos.

Firstly, the citizens believed that the passing of the reform presented numerous disadvantages to the general population, especially to blue-collar workers and women. 

The French pension is a mix of several regimes, a full pension atoning 50% of a person’s gross average salary of their best 25 years. 

Received by all French retirees, the state pension is funded by the redistribution of a mandatory payroll charge collected from the working population.

62 years of age is the minimum age to gain full pension, under the condition that a person has enough quarters. 

However, the reform changed the eligible age for full pension from 62 to 67 years, which means that people will have to work an additional year: 43 years, rather than 42.

To blue-collar workers with lower life expectancy, this reduces the number of years they can draw the pension early from 5 to 3. 

Additionally, professions under the hardship criteria for retirement lose pensions bonuses.

This also meant that individuals dependent on pension bonuses have to work longer to achieve them. 

This particularly affects women, who tend to retire at a later age than men and have lower pensions.

With a 40% decrease in pensions, women in France earn an average of 22% less than men, due to greater part-time years and maternity leave.

The reform pushes their retirement by seven months, and for men by five months. 

Thus, women would lose part of their pension incentives while working for a longer period.

Despite these drawbacks, Macron insists on the pass of reform to avert the foreboding deficit amid France’s aging demography, with approximately 15 million pensioners currently. 

Notorious for massively funding pensions, France spends 14% of their GDP on public pensions. 

Contrarily, in 2000, there were 2.1 workers for each retiree; however, it is expected that by 2070, the ratio will decrease to 1.2 workers.

To bridge the financing gap, the reform serves to decelerate the process, steadily building a surplus to support future generations of France.

However, as unemployment is a common issue, the logistics regarding the sustainment of a full career from 62 to 67 years is another contributor to the disapproval of the reform.  

Secondly, Macron’s governing style, with regards to his methods of implementation of this system, was deemed controversial.

The voting of the reform in the National Assembly was planned to take place on 17 March 2023.

However, after four crisis meetings held by Macron, the vote was overruled via article 49.3.

Article 49.3 allows the President to override the parliament to adopt a project without debate, unless a no-confidence vote is successful. 

Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne announced the decision to use article 49.3 in parliament, sparking two no-confidence motions.

Nonetheless, both did not pass.

In addition to the general public of France, numerous left-wing parties expressed their discontent regarding the usage of article 49.3.

Currently passed into law, debates on the legitimacy of  the reform are ongoing within economists, citizens and politicians.