'Mini-victory' for Macron as French Senate vote approves raising retirement age to 64

The French Senate on Thursday voted 201-115 to raise the retirement age by two years to 64 even as protests continued across the country. The Senate, dominated by the conservative Les Republicains party voted in favour of the motion, giving President Emmanuel Macron his first mini-victory in the ongoing saga.

Macron's government is facing a midnight Sunday deadline to finalise the legislation. The Senate on Thursday voted in favour of article 7 of the reform legislation while the remaining articles are expected be approved later this week. Afterwards, the proposal will be sent to a meditation committee comprising lawmakers from the Senate and the National Assembly.

The passing of the bill comes a day after fuel deliveries from refineries across the country were blocked by striking workers. According to official figures, on the biggest day of demonstrationsso far, 1.27 million people participated in the protest on January 31.

Read more:France hit with new round of protests against pensions reform plan

Why is the government extending the age limit?

The government is of the view that extending the pension age will prevent the French service system from collapsing under the weight of deficits.

Notably, the workers in France tend to retire much earlier than their European Union (EU) counterparts. The direct repercussion is that the French exchequer has to foot a bigger pension bill than most countries in the bloc.

The French pensionersalso receive 54.4 per cent of their last pay slip as pension on average. Comparatively, the average EU pension amount stands at 46.2 per cent.

WATCH | WION Fineprint: French pension reforms face backlash

In January, taking a stern approach, Macron said he will get the reform bill passed this year only.

“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,” he had said in a televised address.

Despite the resistance, the Macron government has remained steadfast that it will pass the legislation, having failed to do so on previous occasions.

(With inputs from agencies)

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