French Leader Vows To Raise Retirement Age To 65, Up From 62

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To force younger generations to work longer hours, French President Emmanuel Macron vowed to enact a pension reform that would gradually raise the retirement age by three years to 65. In an interview with France 2 television, Macron stated that the modifications would begin to be implemented in 2019. If we are lucid, there is only one option to proceed. We need to work longer because we are living longer, he remarked.

According to him, the minimum retirement age from 62 to 65 by 2031 will be gradually raised to qualify for a full pension. Macron nevertheless declared that he is "open" to talking with unions about the retirement age and making any necessary amendments. Such measures would apply to people who worked enough to qualify.  Those who do not meet the requirements must now work until the age of 67, including many women who take time off from their employment to raise their children. The majority of opposition parties and labor organizations reject the pension revisions. Macron pledged to work with Republican legislators to carry internal measures, such as pension revisions, through parliament.

As a result of opposition legislators on the far left and far right protesting the use of a particular constitutional power to compel budget bills through the National Assembly, his government survived three no-confidence votes in October. At the end of 2019 during Macron's first term, a proposed pension reform triggered widespread strikes and protests. Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, the government decided to halt the discussion. In April, Macron won reelection to a second term.