France: young people demonstrate against retirement changes

PARIS (AP) — Young French people, some of whom have not yet entered the labor market, demonstrated on Thursday against the government’s proposal to raise the retirement age.

Students plan to block access to some universities and secondary schools and a youth-led protest is planned in Paris, part of a nationwide wave of strikes and demonstrations against the bill being debated in parliament.

For a generation already worried about inflation, uncertain job prospects and climate change, pension reform raises wider questions about the value of work.

“I don’t want to work all my life and be exhausted at the end,” said Djana Farhaig, a 15-year-old who participated in the blockade of her high school in Paris during a protest last month. show us that the youth It is involved in its future.

Teenagers and 20-somethings have taken part in anti-retirement protests since the movement began in January, but student groups want to draw attention to the specific concerns of young people on Thursday.

President Emmanuel Macron wants to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, among other changes, to make the public pension system profitable in the face of an aging population. Critics of the measure argue that wealthier taxpayers or businesses should contribute more to funding the system.

At one of the protests, a teenager carried a placard with the phrase “I don’t want my parents to die working”.

Thomas Coutrot, an economist specializing in health and working conditions, described a widespread feeling that “work has become unbearable”.

“Young people perceive that working conditions are deteriorating and that workers no longer understand why they work,” he added.

Among the young demonstrators, there are many supporters of the political platform La France insoumise and other far-left groups, but also other political formations. They see being able to live on a state pension as a fundamental right and see the reform as a regression of hard-won social progress.

Elisa Lepetit, 18, has a part-time job in a bar which she combines with her training as a teacher, and although she cannot afford to go on strike, she supports the protests.

“I want to be a teacher, but I don’t see myself working until I’m 64,” she said. “The goal after a lifetime of hard work is to be able to spend time with my family.”

Some take a more apocalyptic view, indicating that their time on Earth is already threatened by climate change. “Working until you’re 67 when it’s going to be over 55 degrees (Celsius) doesn’t make sense,” joked Anissa Saudemont, 29, who has a job in the media industry related to ecology. .