French Senate approves raising retirement age from 62 to 64

The French Senate on Wednesday approved the increase in the legal retirement age, from 62 to 64 years. It is the most important and controversial part of the pension reform that the French government has set its sights on.

After fierce opposition from the Left parties, the article was approved by 201 votes to 115. The right-wing parties have a majority in the French Senate. According to the French government, the pension system should be on the spade because it has become unaffordable, partly because of the aging population, which is due to the fact that there are relatively many more pensioners.

The intention is to gradually increase the retirement age and bring it to 64 years by 2030. In addition, from 2027, employees will also have to have worked for 43 years in order to receive a full pension. During the consideration of the bill in the House of Representatives, several concessions were made. For example, French people who started working as teenagers will soon be allowed to retire earlier than at the age of 64.

French people have taken to the streets several times in recent months to express their dissatisfaction with the plans. There were also major strikes in education and public transport. On Tuesday, according to trade unions, 3.5 million people across the country demonstrated against the government’s plans. At least 260 demonstrations took place across the country, for which more than ten thousand police officers were on their feet. The unions spoke of a “historic” rise. Another day of action is planned for Saturday.

Although polls show that most French people are behind the actions, the government is still holding its ground for the time being. On Thursday, the Senate will continue to discuss the other proposed reforms of the pension system. The French government hopes to conclude discussions on the full pension reform in the Senate on Sunday, in order to be able to vote in both chambers of parliament on March 16.

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