Editorial photo #9524520 Social Issue
Toulouse: More Than 60,000 People Took To The Streets Against The Macron' Pension Reform
Demonstrators in Toulouse, France, are holding placards reading "Life expectancy in good health has stagnated for 15 years: men less than 62 years old, women less than 64 years old" as more than 60,000 people (80,000 for the unions) take to the streets for the second time in two weeks to protest the planned reform of the pension and retirement age. 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 that opinion polls show is opposed by a vast majority (93%) of workers already facing a cost-of-living crisis. Nearly all sectors of unions have called for this strike and protest, including mining and energy, health, schooling, transportation, truck drivers, refining workers, and bank workers. The retirement age would be raised to 64 years (for 43 years of continued work) and pensions would be lower, especially for women, people with "short careers," and those with low wages. The COR (Counsel of Pension Guidance), which depends on the Prime Minister's Office directly, 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.
