French govt. ‘to implement pension reform plan’ despite massive outcry
French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe says the French government is determined to implement its planned one-size-fits-all model for the pension system, even though a nationwide strike in protest at the policy plan has crippled the country.
“Democratic and union opposition to our project is perfectly legitimate. But we have stated clearly what our project was and my government is totally determined to reform the pensions system and to balance the pension system’s budget,” Philippe told parliament on Tuesday.
Unions say the new system will introduce a “points system” for retirement, which will have a significant impact on both the public and private sectors and will force them to work well beyond the official retirement age of 62.
However, President Emmanuel Macron, whose government has been under constant pressure by weekly Yellow Vest protest rallies over the past year, insists that the reform plan will make for a fairer system and help erase pension system deficits forecast to reach as much as 17 billion euros (19 billion dollars) by 2025.
In central Paris on Tuesday, police fired tear gas canisters at protesters, who responded by throwing projectiles at lines of police officers.
Also on Tuesday, clashes occurred between riot police and protesters in the western city of Nantes.
During the past months, the city has been the scene of frequent clashes between police and far-left radical groups.
The plan has also sparked a crippling strike in the transport sector.
The developments came just a day after Macron’s High Commissioner for Pensions Jean-Paul Delevoye, the top official overseeing the pension negotiations, was forced to step down over a salary scandal, in a blow to the embattled French president.
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