President Emmanuel Macron and his government on Tuesday braced for a third wave of nationwide strikes and protests against plans to make the French work longer before retirement, as the bill started its bumpy passage through parliament.
The government says the reform will allow gross savings of over 17 billion euros per year by 2030.
Unions and leftwing opponents say the money can be found elsewhere, notably from the wealthy. Conservative opponents, whose support Macron needs for a working majority in the National Assembly, want concessions for those who start working young. "The reform will never be accepted if the most wealthy don't contribute," former Socialist president Francois Hollande told BFM TV. "In all past pension reforms, even that of Nicolas Sarkozy, the highest earners contributed."in cities across France during the first two days of strike action in January, as public pressure intensified against a government that insists it will stand its ground on the reforms main planks.
In parliament, more than 20,000 amendments lie before lawmakers, the vast majority from the leftwing Nupes alliance. However, because the reform has been tacked onto an annual social security bill, the government may send it to the Senate after just two weeks., Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has offered to let some people who start work early also retire early - but Les Republicains lawmakers are divided over whether the proposed starting age of 20-21 is low enough.
"Someone who starts work earlier, stops working earlier. What's so difficult to understand @Elisabeth_Borne," Aurelien Pradie, a lead LR critic of the current proposal, tweeted.
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