(muffled rumbling)
(glass breaking) (muffled chattering)
- [Noemie] French President Emmanuel Macron's government
invoked a special provision of France's Constitution
on Thursday to bypass Parliament
in a bid to push through its controversial pension reform.
(Elisabeth speaking foreign language)
(angry shouting)
- The move received a frosty reception in Parliament,
with lawmakers singing the national anthem.
(group singing)
The use of Article 49 of the French Constitution
allows the Macron government to avoid a parliamentary vote
on the bill, which proposes raising the retirement age.
(muffled shouting)
It comes after public sector workers
have walked off the job in droves,
culminating in piles of trash building up
around the French capital.
I'm in Paris with a view of the iconic Eiffel Tower,
but here's a scene that offers
a less romantic vision of the city.
(muffled traffic humming)
Heaps of trash piled on the city streets.
The garbage has not been picked up in Paris for over a week.
This is in response to the unpopular government
pension overhaul that has been proposed
by French President Emmanuel Macron.
(group chanting)
Macron has proposed overhauling the pension system.
He wants to raise the legal retirement age by two years
to 64 and make people work longer
before they can touch their pensions.
(man shouting in foreign language)
Unions are unhappy with the legislation.
- [Noemie] Millions of workers
have gone on strike since January
when the current bill was first presented to Parliament.
(group shouting in foreign language)
- [Noemie] Teachers, train drivers, and oil refinery staff
from across the country are among those
who have joined the strikes.
Recent polls showed nearly 70% of people oppose the reforms,
but Macron says the changes are needed
to protect France's pension system from collapse
and to maintain control of government expenditure.
He has pledged to boost military spending
and wants to bring the national deficits
back in line with the European Union's targets.
France has one of the lowest rates of retirees
at risk of poverty in Europe, but this comes at a cost.
France spends close to 15%
of its economic output on pensions.
That's almost double what the U.S. spends.
The country's pension system is expected
to run a deficit of 1.8 billion Euros in 2023.
That's set to keep increasing to 21.2 billion Euros in 2035.
As the population ages, the number of workers
who fund each pension check is shrinking.
The government has ruled out raising taxes
to sure up deficit,
saying that taxes in France are already high.
(Olivier speaking foreign language)
(muffled shouting)
- [Noemie] This isn't the first time Macron
tried to overhaul France's pension system.
In 2019, he proposed to streamline France's
42 different state pension plans,
which vary in retirement age and income,
into one universal system.
He also wanted to introduce bonuses and penalties
to encourage people to work until the age of 64.
This led to strikes across the transportation system,
which paralyzed the country for weeks
before the government shelved its plans
as the COVID-19 pandemic struck,
but some economists say the proposed changes
won't keep the system afloat for long.
Many see the fights over pension
as the last stand defense of France's social welfare model.
(Frederic speaking foreign language)
- [Noemie] France's Senate approved
the controversial reforms on March 11-
(official speaking foreign language)
- [Noemie] But the government struggled to cobble together
enough votes for it to pass through
the Low House of Parliament, The National Assembly.
Macron's move comes at a high political cost.
Protesters in opposition parties that have painted Macron
as an authoritarian now have more ammunition
to mobilize the masses.
Demonstrators took to the streets
after Article 49 was invoked.
A number of parties have said they will retaliate
by putting forward a no confidence motion.
If successful, that would force the government to resign.
(dramatic tonal music) (metal clanging)