French court approves contentious plans to raise country’s pension age

Published

2 years ago

April 14, 2023

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Contentious plans to raise the pension age in France have been approved by the country’s highest constitutional court.

France’s Constitutional Council has ruled in favour of the government’s reforms, which will see the pension age increase from 62 to 64.

The plans sparked widespread protests after president Emmanuel Macron’s government invoked Article 49.3 to push the changes through without a vote by MPs last month.

France’s state retirement age is 62 – much lower than many of its European neighbours. In the UK it is 66, Germany and Italy 67, and Spain 65.

Protesters clashed with police shortly after the court’s decision was announced, with teargas used on a group of demonstrators in Lyon, while bikes were also set on fire in the French capital, Paris.

Mr Macron, who has described the changes as a “necessity” to salvage France’s pensions system, will now sign the reform bill into law within the coming days.

The law will take effect at the beginning of September, according to France’s labour minister. However, the country’s labour unions have urged Mr Macron not to sign the bill.

One of France’s largest unions, the CGT, has said leaders will no longer engage in talks with the president if he signs off on the pension reforms.

It comes after nearly 400,000 protesters took to the streets across France on Thursday in a final push in protest at the proposals.

The country has faced weeks of demonstrations and at times the protests have turned violent, with demonstrators clashing with police.

Protesters stormed the headquarter of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) – which also represents brands including Christian Dior, Fendi and Givenchy – on Thursday.

Demonstrations also took place in towns and cities across the country – including in Rennes where a Mercedes was set on fire.

What is the retirement age in France – and how is it changing?

France’s state retirement age is 62 – much lower than many of its European neighbours.

French workers can receive a state pension from the age of 62, but it will be less if that person has not made the required number of contributions.

Aged 67, they are entitled to the full state pension regardless of their contributions.

Mr Macron’s changes will see the age that workers can receive a state pension increase to 64.

This will be done gradually by three months a year from September 2023 until September 2030.

The number of years someone will have to make contributions to get the full state pension will increase from 42 to 43 in 2027.

End of the road for those hoping to block pension reforms

Lisa Holland

Communities correspondent

@LisaatSky

For those who have fought long and hard, and been involved in demonstrations on a weekly basis, and for those who have been on strike and gone without pay, this is a bitterly disappointing decision by France’s Constitutional Council.

It is the end of the road. It is a line in the sand from a legal perspective.

President Macron may have seen off the legal crisis though, but he still has a political crisis because there are many, many angry people who say that their voice was not heard and that the French government did not listen to them.

They are also disappointed because not only is the pension age going to be increased from 62 to 64, but they won’t be getting a referendum, which they’d also called for so that they could have a say and that they could have a vote.

President Macron says there is no winner or loser, but those involved in the strike action at a protest where I am now in central Paris say they will continue to strike and that their determination to stop this doesn’t end now.

And that means that France is the loser because this will continue to be a city dogged by demonstrations, protests, violence potentially and crippled by strikes.

But French workers have reacted with fury to the proposals, with unions sharing a great a pride in France’s pensions system.

There is also anger among those approaching pension age, who say the changes will scupper their plans to retire.

What is Macron’s argument?

France’s generous welfare state has long weighed heavily on the economy and workforce.

In the third quarter of 2022, national debt stood at 113.4% of GDP – more than in the UK (100.2%), Germany (66.6%), and similar to struggling economies like Spain (115.6%) and Portugal (120.1%).

It also means the workforce is shrinking. There are only 1.7 workers for every pensioner in France, down from 2.1 in 2000.

“This is Macron’s flagship policy,” David S Bell, emeritus professor of French government and politics at the University of Leeds, told Sky News.

“He wants to push it through before he steps down at the end of this term.

“But the problem isn’t an immediate crisis – it’s a future burden based on economic projections. It’s the opposite to the way politics works, which is to focus on the immediate, headline-grabbing issues.

“His argument is that unless these reforms are made, and the French working life is made longer, the country won’t be able to afford it.”

Addressing strikes on French TV, Mr Macron argued: “This reform isn’t a luxury, it’s not a pleasure, it’s a necessity. The longer we wait, the more [the deficit] will deteriorate.”

What happens now?

France’s Constitutional Council, the highest constitutional court in the land, has now given Mr Macron’s government the go-ahead to push forward with the plans.

The council is made up of nine people – three appointed by the president, three by the head of the National Assembly (lower house of parliament), and three by the head of the Senate (upper house of parliament).

Largely former lawyers, business people, senior civil servants and ex-politicians, they oversee the final stage of approving any new law – and consider whether it adheres to the constitution.

There is one final mechanism unions can use to stop the bill going through – a referendum – but for this they would have to get the approval of both the council and 10% of voters within the next nine months.

It has not been successfully used since it was introduced in 2015.

The government hopes the approval of the plans will bring an end to nationwide protests. But there is no guarantee the disruption will end.

World

Joe Biden allows Kyiv to begin firing US rockets deep into Russia – as politician warns it ‘risks World War Three’

Published

38 mins ago

November 18, 2024

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Joe Biden allows Kyiv to begin firing US rockets deep into Russia - as politician warns it 'risks World War Three'

Joe Biden has authorised Ukraine to begin firing US-supplied rockets deep into Russia – as Sir Keir Starmer prepares to push for “further support” for Kyiv at the G20 summit.

Mr Biden’s policy shift means Kyiv will now be able to use Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) for long-range attacks, two American officials have told Sky News’ US partner network NBC News.

Ukraine plans to conduct its first such attacks in the coming days, the sources said, without revealing details due to operational security concerns.

The US has eased restrictions on the use of ATACMS, which have a range of up to 190 miles, after Russia began deploying North Korean ground troops to supplement its own forces in the conflict.

The development was condemned by Biden officials as a possible expansion of the war.

Follow latest: Ukraine war live updates

A Russian politician and the son of president-elect Donald Trump have both likened the move to risking a third world war.

Maria Butina told the Reuters news agency: “These guys, Biden’s administration, is trying to escalate the situation to the maximum while they still have power and are still in office.

“I have a great hope that Trump will overcome this decision if this has been made because they are seriously risking the start of World War Three which is not in anybody’s interest.”

Meanwhile, Donald Trump Jr wrote on X: “The Military Industrial Complex seems to want to make sure they get World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives… Imbeciles!”

The outgoing Biden administration’s move comes as there are concerns about the level of support the Trump White House may be willing to give Ukraine.

Mr Trump has previously vowed to limit US support for Ukraine and end its war with Russia.

In an evening address after Kyiv was given permission to fire deep into Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: “Today, there’s a lot of talk in the media about us receiving permission for respective actions. But strikes are not carried out with words. Such things are not announced. Missiles will speak for themselves. They certainly will.”

Back in September, Russian President Vladimir Putin said if the US were to lift the ban on long-range missile use it would be seen as NATO’s “direct participation” in the war.

He added: “This, of course, will significantly change the very essence, the very nature of the conflict.”

Meanwhile, the UK prime minister has said he has “no plans” to speak with the Russian president as world leaders gather for the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.

Mr Putin will not be attending the two-day summit which starts on Monday after saying in October that his presence would “disrupt the normal work of this forum”. Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov will be attending instead.

It will take place days after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke to Mr Putin on what was the Russian leader’s first publicly announced conversation with the sitting head of a major Western power in nearly two years.

Asked if he had any plans to make a similar call, Sir Keir said: “It’s a matter for Chancellor Scholz who he speaks to. I have no plans to speak to Putin.”

Speaking to reporters while on his way to the summit, he added: “We are coming up to the 1,000th day of this conflict on Tuesday.

“That’s 1,000 days of Russian aggression, 1,000 days of huge impact and sacrifice in relation to the Ukrainian people and recently we’ve seen the addition of North Korean troops working with Russians which does have serious implications.

“I think on one hand it shows the desperation of Russia, but it’s got serious implications for European security […] and for Indo-Pacific security and that’s why I think we need to double down on shoring up our support for Ukraine and that’s top of my agenda for the G20.

“There’s got to be full support as long as it takes and that certainly is top of my agenda, shoring up that further support for Ukraine.”

The latest developments come after Russia launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine on Sunday, with Mr Zelenskyy claiming Moscow had launched a total of 120 missiles and 90 drones.

Two major strikes, which left a total of 18 people dead, hit a residential building in the northeastern city of Sumy as well as energy infrastructure across Ukraine, prompting emergency power cuts.

Hours later, Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Russia’s air defence units had destroyed a drone heading towards the city.

World

Biden allows Kyiv to begin firing US rockets deep into Russia – as Starmer calls on allies to ‘double down’ on support

Published

4 hours ago

November 18, 2024

admin

Joe Biden has authorised Ukraine to begin firing US-supplied rockets deep into Russia – as Sir Keir Starmer prepares to push for “further support” for Kyiv at the G20 summit.

Ukraine plans to conduct its first such attacks in the coming days, the sources said, without revealing details due to operational security concerns.

The US has eased restrictions on the use of ATACMS, which have a range of up to 190 miles, after Russia began deploying North Korean ground troops to supplement its own forces in the conflict.

The development was condemned by Biden officials as a possible expansion of the war.

Follow latest: Ukraine war live updates

The son of president-elect Donald Trump has criticised the move to allow Ukraine to fire deep into Russia.

Donald Trump Jr wrote on the X social media platform: “The Military Industrial Complex seems to want to make sure they get World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives… Imbeciles!”