Summary of France’s Pension Reforms: Why Is There So Much Opposition? | WSJ

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The French government's attempt at pension reform, which proposes raising the retirement age by two years and making people work longer before they receive their pensions, has been met with opposition from lawmakers and citizens. Unions have called for strikes, and polls indicate that 70% of the French population opposes the reforms. The government argues that the changes are necessary to prevent the pension system from collapsing and control government expenditure since the system currently spends nearly 15% of France's economic output on pensions, which is expected to increase as the population ages.

• 00:00:00 In this section, we learn that French President Emmanuel Macron's government has invoked Article 49 of the French Constitution, which allows them to bypass a parliamentary vote on the pension reform bill, leading to protests from lawmakers and citizens. The bill proposes raising the retirement age by two years and making people work longer before they can receive their pensions. Unions have responded with strikes, and recent polls show that 70% of the French population opposes the reforms. Macron argues that the changes are necessary to protect France's pension system from collapsing and to control government expenditure. France's pension system spends close to 15% of its economic output on pensions, and it is expected to run a significant deficit in the coming years as the population ages.