Editorial photo #9524516 Social Issue
Toulouse: More Than 60,000 People Took To The Streets Against The Macron' Pension Reform
A protester is holding a red flag and wearing a hat with the Soviet star as they protest in Toulouse, France, on January 31st, 2023. More than 60,000 people (80,000 for the unions) have taken to the streets for the second time in two weeks to oppose the planned reform of pensions and retirement age. France's labour unions have jointly called for a new day of major strike action and protests across France against President Emmanuel Macron's government's plans to reform the pension system and raise the retirement age to 64 from 62, a move which opinion polls show is opposed by a vast majority (93%) of workers already facing a cost-of-living crisis. Nearly all sectors unions have called for this strike and protest: mining and energy, health, schooling sector, transportation, truck drivers, refining workers, bank workers, etc. The retirement age would be raised to 64 years (for 43 years of continued work) and pensions would be lower, particularly for women, those with 'short careers' and those on low wages. The COR (Counsel of Pension Guidance), which is directly dependent on the Prime Minister's Office, said in its latest report on September 2022 that it sees no need to reform the pension system as its share in the French GDP will remain steady at least until 2070.
