French government wants to reform pension system by raising retirement age to 64
The second major strikes have been announced for tomorrow, Tuesday. Already last Thursday, at least 80,000 people gathered in Paris to demonstrate against the pension reform signed by President Emmanuel Macron. Across France the demonstrators reached almost two million. They were the biggest demonstrations in ten years.
“On est là , même si Macron ne veut pas, on est là ” – “We are here, we are here even if Macron doesn’t want to”, was the slogan heard everywhere. Even if the French government insists on pension reform, many French people oppose it, as do some economists.
Frank Lopez Costa was one of the protesters in Paris. “It’s not just about pensions. The reform calls into question the heart of our social system,” the 35-year-old primary school teacher told DW. “France is becoming more and more liberal economically but we don’t want it.” According to surveys, the percentage of French people opposed to pension reform recently reached 70%.
Reform is necessary for the government
The French government insists that reform is necessary. According to Prime Minister Elizabeth Bourne, the new system guarantees the future of pensions. Unlike countries such as Germany, France has a pension system based solely on contributions without elements of private benefits. In France, in addition to the general pension funds for workers in the wider public sector, there are an additional 27 special funds, for example for ballet dancers at the Paris Opera or for police officers who take early retirement.
The government’s goal is to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64 years by 2030. In addition, from 2027 onwards, 44 rather than 42 years of work will apply to reach full retirement. In any case, those who turn 67 will have a claim for a full pension. The new reform also sets specific (stricter) criteria for the early retirement scheme. Emmanuel Macron also plans to increase the minimum pension by 100 euros to around 1,200 euros a month.
Who will pay the new pensions?
The French government’s arguments were based on assessments by a panel of experts. Pension spending is expected to account for 14.7% of French GDP by 2032, up from 13.8% now. Many economists consider raising the retirement age to be the right choice given the demographic evolution. “The reform is necessary because we need more workers in order to promote economic growth,” economist Philippe Crevel of the Paris think tank Cercle d’Epargne told DW. “In France, the employment rate among senior citizens is relatively low compared to other countries. Increasing the minimum retirement age would automatically increase this percentage,” he explains.
However, there are economists who have the opposite opinion. Sorbonne economics professor Michael Zemur – no relative of far-right politician Eric Zemur – sees behind the pension reform an attempt by the government to balance the budget in order to give relief to French companies. “The government wants to slowly dismantle our social system,” he says.
The ideological charge of work
However, the pension reform can also be analyzed from a sociological point of view. According to sociologist Danielle Linard, French citizens currently do not understand much about the essence of the new reform. As he observes, the analyzes of experts in the French media are many, difficult to understand and often ideologically charged. “Citizens see that the conclusion of an analysis depends on the ideology of each expert and on the answer to the question ‘what kind of society do we want to live in’: a market-oriented society where its law prevails, or a society that moderates inequalities,” observes Linar.
The fact is, however, that in French society the concept of work has a particularly charged meaning that starts from the time of the French Revolution and continues to this day. “Labor became a symbol of the class struggle. People fought for the right to retire at a certain age,” explains Linar. And the French do not want to lose this right just like that. That is why they are planning new demonstrations and strikes.
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With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
