France: pension system emerges from political tensions and protests

PARIS (AP) — Opponents of French President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform are staging the eighth round of mobilizations and protests on Wednesday as a committee of senators and lawmakers considers the controversial bill.

The latest stage in the legislative process to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 has caused a spike in political tensions and raises a key question: will he win a parliamentary majority?

Unions, for their part, hope protests across the country will continue to show massive opposition from workers to the plan, promoted by Macron as a key part of his vision to make the French economy more competitive.

The meeting that seven senators and seven deputies of the National Assembly will hold on Wednesday aims to reach an agreement on the final version of the text. The Senate is expected to approve it on Thursday, as it is controlled by a conservative majority in favor of raising the retirement age.

But the situation in the National Assembly is much more complicated.

Macron’s centrist alliance lost a majority in parliamentary elections last year, so the government needs conservative votes to push through the plan. Lawmakers on the left and far-right strongly oppose the measure.

The leader of the conservative Republicans, Eric Ciotti, who sits in the Assembly, told the Journal du Dimanche that “the interest of the nation (…) obliges us to vote in favor of the reform”.

But the Tories are split and some are considering voting against or abstaining, complicating the lower house’s forecast.

Without a guarantee of a majority, the Macron government faces a dilemma: a vote in the Assembly on Thursday afternoon would give more legitimacy to the bill, if it is adopted, but there is also the risk that it will be rejected.

Another option would be to use a special constitutional power to force the text through parliament without a vote. But the measure’s unpopularity would provoke immediate criticism from the political opposition and trade unions for the lack of democratic debate.

Aurélien Pradié, representative of the Les Républicains party, said on Wednesday that if this appeal is used, it will go to the Constitutional Council, the highest judicial body in the country, to challenge the democratic legitimacy of the initiative.

Machinists, teachers and longshoremen, among others, will not go to work on Wednesday. Thousands of tonnes of waste are piling up on the sidewalks of the capital, Paris, and other cities across the country after more than a week of collectors’ strike against Macron’s plan.

In Paris, the industrial strike will continue at least until March 20.

Disruptions to public transport are expected, including the capital’s metro and high-speed, regional and suburban trains in Paris. The civil aviation agency, the DGAC, has canceled 20% of scheduled flights at Paris-Orly airport and warned of possible delays.

Protesters gathered in various areas, including the venues for the upcoming Paris Olympics in 2024.

Workers at several oil refineries have also been on an indefinite strike since last week.