French President Macron says pension system reform will be implemented in 2023

French President Emmanuel Macroninhis addresson Saturdayannounced that the upcoming year will witness the much-delayed and widely unpopular overhaul of the country’s pension system. This comes after his initial proposal had led to widespread protests as the move would forcepeople to work longer.

“This year will indeed be that of a pension reform that aims to guarantee the equilibrium of our system in the years and decades to come,” said Macron. He added, “We have to work more.”During the televised speech, the French president also said that the reform will be implemented by the end of summer, the details for which,will likely be revealed by January 10.

Notably, a key aspect of the proposed reformthat has provoked outrage, is raising the minimum age to collect government benefits from 62 years to 65. Meanwhile, major worker groups and student groups have threatened to strike and protest. The French president who has always been in favour of raising the age of retirement has met with fierce criticism and resistance from unions in the past.

In 2017, when he first came into power, fixing France’s complicated pension reform was one of the most important election promises Macron had made. However, the initial proposal was met with weeks of protests and transport strikes and was later put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Reportedly, the French president’s idea of pension reform is widely unpopular with the public.

During his address, Macron also urged people to conserve energy, as one of the ways that the country can avoid power cuts, as almost all European countries continue to face the fallout of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent energy crisis. Furthermore, France has also reportedly brought back nuclear reactors into service after breaks for maintenance to mitigate the power shortagesand make it through the winter.

(With inputs from agencies)

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