French demonstration against raising the retirement age

PARIS (AP) — Thousands of French people furious with President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the retirement age joined a nationwide strike on Wednesday as the proposal made its way through a legislative committee.

It remains to be seen whether Macron can muster a parliamentary majority to support his plan to raise the age from 62 to 64 so that workers can contribute more money to the pension system.

If that doesn’t happen, the president may have to take the risk of unilaterally pushing through the unpopular changes.

The scheme would also deny a full pension to anyone who retires at age 64 without having worked for 43 years. In short, they would have to wait until the age of 67.

Macron pushed the changes as a central part of his vision to make the French economy more competitive.

Unions remained combative on Wednesday, urging lawmakers to vote against the plan and decrying the legal shortcuts the government used to push the initiative forward. They described such a course as a dangerous “denial of democracy”.

The economic difficulties caused widespread discontent throughout Western Europe.

In Britain, teachers, doctors and public transport staff staged a strike to demand higher wages to meet the high cost of living.

In Spain, the left-wing government and unions have announced a “historic” agreement to save the pension system by increasing social security charges for top earners.

The solution in Spain is the same as what unions want in France, but Macron has refused to raise taxes on the grounds that it would make the country’s economy less competitive.

The president said action was needed to maintain current levels of pension payments in France, as the population retiring is expected to rise from 16 million to 21 million by 2050.

In Paris, the eighth round of nationwide protests began with loud music and the rise of large union balloons.

The combination of banners showed the tone of the spirits. “They say capitalism. We say fights,” one banner read. Others read “Furious Paris” and “If rights are not defended, they will be violated”.

“If we don’t speak now, all our rights that the French fought for will be lost,” said Nicolas Durand, a 33-year-old actor. “Macron is oblivious to communication and is in bed with the rich. It’s easy for people in government to say work harder because your lives have been simple.”

10 days after the start of a garbage collectors’ strike, heaps of stinking rubbish cover Paris. Police ordered the removal of one from the march route after some rioters used it to make bonfires or threw it at police during recent protests.

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Associated Press writers Alex Turnbull, Nico Garrica and Thomas Adamson in Paris contributed to this report.