We've seen fires in the streets,
violent clashes
between protesters and police,
and millions of people
across the country
taking part
in a seemingly endless stream of strikes and protests.
The reason behind these protests
is a decision
by French President Emmanuel Macron
to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.
Now, seeing this level of anger over a decision
about retirement age
may seem confusing
to people outside of France,
especially considering
that France had one of the lowest retirement
ages for an OECD nation
and even at 64, it's still in the bottom half.
The thing is, there's a lot more going on here
than meets the eye,
but before we get into all of that, let's quickly cover
why President Macron has been so set on pushing through
this controversial change.
In simple terms,
it has to do with rising debt and an aging population.
People in France have been living longer
and birthrates have been dropping
and when you combine these two things, you can end up
with an aging population.
When a bigger percentage of your population is retired,
more of your country's spending inevitably
goes towards pensions
and also to things like health care.
Not only that, but it can also mean
having fewer people in the workforce
and that has its own set of knock on effects, too.
One of which,
is often less tax money going to the government.
France is already, far and away, one of the highest
proportionate spenders on pensions in the OECD
and it also has one of the
biggest debts in proportion to GDP in the EU.
You can probably see where this is going.
By raising the retirement age, you
not only keep people in the workforce for longer,
but it also means that you have fewer pensions to pay for.
It's a change
that a number of countries have already made in recent years.
So, why exactly are so many people in France
so angry about all of this?
It's not just that people are angry about
what the change is,
there's also anger at who made the change,
and HOW he did it,
but let's start with the what,
because there's a bit to unpack here.
The first thing,
is that generous retirement benefits
and early retirement
are seen as a unique
and proud part of French culture and identity.
France has a system
of social security that, rightly, people are very proud of.
The guarantees here make some other countries enviable,
and people are naturally very protective of that.
There's also the pretty basic fact that most people aren't
really keen on the idea of having to work longer.
Some protesters say they're also worried about age
discrimination, arguing that it's already tough for
a lot of people in their 60s to find
and keep work.
No, it's not true that you can work
until you're 64 years old.
Not because you don't want to,
but because companies are laying off seniors.
And then there are those who say that this is an attack
on blue collar workers,
because working an extra
two years in an office job is a lot different
to working an extra two years in a physically demanding job.
This last point, in particular, ties into a narrative
that's often pushed by opponents of President Macron,
that the President, a former investment
banker, is an elitist and a friend of the rich.
A number of the protesters have been arguing
that the president should be raising taxes on the ultra
wealthy instead of raising the retirement age.
They're looking for solutions to finance the pension system.
There's a very simple solution.
It's to take from the pockets of billionaires.
President Macron, of course, denies that he's an elitist,
but one thing that's hard to deny, is that
the President just isn't very popular in France right now
and hasn't been for a while.
So, for some, these protests aren't just about
venting their frustrations with the retirement changes, but
also venting their frustrations about the President himself.
The issue in France right now is broader
than just the reform on pension.
It's people being angry
about the very neoliberal
political agenda that Macron has been pursuing.
All of this brings us to the final point,
and, for many, the biggest reason why
they're so angry with the President.
After the 2022 election, the President's centrist
coalition lost its majority
in France's National Assembly.
So, fearing that this deeply unpopular change wouldn't
get enough votes to pass through France's parliament,
the President decided to use a special constitutional power
to bypass a democratic vote in the lower house.
This is why you're hearing a lot of people at the protests
talking about the ‘death of democracy’.
Now, one justification for this is that President Macron
very openly talked about planning to do this
while campaigning to be president in 2022
and so, that's what the public voted for
when they elected him to a second term.
However, it's safe to say that a lot of people in France
aren't really satisfied with that reasoning.
What can I say? I'm shocked.
We're living in a democracy and it's not a democracy.
We want to be listened (to),
and it's all about that,
not just the pensions.
President Macron says that he knows this is an
unpopular move, but maintains that it's a necessary one.
He's also offered to meet with union leaders
to try to sort out some of their concerns around
things like wages and employment
protections for older workers.
But despite all of that, it doesn't look like
protesting will be stopping any time soon.
Unions have called for a further day
of massive protests on May 1st and have said that they won't be
speaking to the President, at least until that.
at least until then.