Massive strikes and protests erupt in France after Macron proposes raising the retirement age.

 

Protesters in France. BBC/EPA.

Massive strikes and protests have erupted in France after French President Emmanuel Macron has proposed raising the retirement age from 62 to 64. BBC. Between 1.2 and 2 million people turned out for protests in 200 cities. Because many of the union workers went on strikes, schools closed and most public transportation was shut down. The effort to raise the retirement age is deeply unpopular among the French with 68% of people disagreeing with the idea. It has also united both the far right and far left in the national assembly and even some more moderate conservatives are against the idea, leaving Macron's Renaissance party scrambling for allies. If the measure fails, there may be extreme problems with France's pension system, which is how the majority of French people are able to retire. Like many countries, France has a demographic problem where not enough workers are paying into the system. 

My Comment:

It is somewhat funny to see this happen in France while here in the United States you aren't fully eligible for retirement until the age of 65 and that number will be 67 pretty soon for full benefits. And I don't know if I have ever talked to anyone in my generation (early millennial/late gen x border) that actually expects retirement to even be available in the 30 or so years that we have until we reach retirement age. 

Regardless though, I think the French people are right to be upset about this. Macron is proposing changing the rules of the game after people have paid into the system for years. And now, all of a sudden, they are getting their benefits yanked? I would be furious and I am not surprised that much of France is protesting against this. 

It's hard to tell with France though. I remember the yellow vest movement awhile back and that movement fizzled out in the end. France seems to protest at the drop of a hat and usually it's a lot of sound and fury signifying nothing. This could be the case here but I am not sure. 

The difference might be the fact that both the unions and the far right and far left are all in agreement here. There is a wide group of people opposed to this and the only ones really pushing for it are Macron's party and a few of the more moderate conservatives. If the strikes become more widespread than they currently are I think Macron will have to back down. 

I don't think it would go beyond that though. I can't see Macron being deposed or forced to step down. Like I said, I don't expect too much from protests in France, it's like their national sport. Macron has proven resilient in the past and I don't see him being vulnerable. 

I do think there is a case to be made that France will have to make changes with their pension system eventually. Like most western countries France has the same demographic problems that mean there are less people paying into the system then drawing out from it. And like most western countries France has foolishly decided to try and solve that problem by bringing in immigrants instead of encouraging people to have children. Unfortunately, many if not most of these immigrants are more of a drain on the system, due to high crime rates and low employments, than contributors.