by Paris Simone Weiler
Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne had just pronounced the last words of her press conference to present the pension reform when the date for the first day of the strike was already set: Next Thursday, January 19, all eight of the main unions in France want to protest. In a joint statement, they announced the beginning of a “powerful and lasting mobilization”. This primarily opposes the planned increase in the retirement age from the current 62 to 64 by 2030, along with increasing the number of contribution years required for a pension without deductions to 43.
“This cannot be done to us,” warns Laurent Berger, head of the reformist CFDT union. Michel Beaugas, from the more radical workers’ union Force Ouvrière: “This is a difficult time with inflation and prices on the rise. Pension reform is just too much of a straw.”
Memoirs of the “Yellow Vests”
President Emmanuel Macron had already announced the reform during the election campaign. However, with his Renaissance party and its allies not having a sufficient majority in parliament, he needed votes from other factions and accepted Republican demands to raise the age limit to 64 instead of 65 and guarantee all seniors a pension. minimum of 1,200 euros. with immediate effect.