Pension reform poses biggest challenge to Macron’s legacy as a reformer

Issued on: 01/02/2023 – 23:07

In 2019, during his first term, President Emmanuel Macron tried to overhaul France’s pension system, provoking widespread opposition in the streets, but the government had to postpone its plans when the Covid-19 pandemic hit.

Now, the government intends to forge ahead with a plan to raise the legal age of retirement from 62 to 64 even though recent opinion polls have shown that over two-thirds of French people oppose his proposals. Macron and his Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne will also face resistance from the National Assembly. Possibly the most virulent source of opposition has come from powerful unions like the CGT and CFDT, which are against raising the age of retirement.

By raising the retirement age by two years most workers would need to work 43 years, rather than 42, to be eligible to receive social security.

Why is pension reform a test of the government’s legitimacy?

The brewing battle will be a test for Macron who has staked his presidency — and the legitimacy of his government — on successfully delivering reforms.  Macron won his second term in office by a small margin in April 2022, winning 18.7 million votes against Marine Le Pen, who had 13.2 million. Nevertheless, voters of the left refuse to see their vote for Macron as approval for his political programme. For them, Macron was elected as president in order to block the rise to power of the extreme-right.

In addition to his reform woes, Macron has struggled to rid himself of the image of an out-of-touch “president of the rich”. His government, too, is judged as “too technocratic” and failing in its political approach.

“The reform of the pension system is raising questions and doubts. We hear it,” Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne wrote on Twitter on Tuesday, while insisting on the government’s “responsibility” to carry out the changes.

Why is the plan to make the French work longer so taboo?

The reform is taking place at a time when many French households are under pressure because of inflation and rising energy prices. People’s purchasing power remains lower than before Russia’s war in Ukraine. Macron and his government will have a difficult time convincing the French of the need to reform the pension system.

The intensity of the protests stem from the union’s reluctance to give up hard-won gains and from the perception of French citizens that the reform is an attack on the nation’s welfare system. As early as the 1930s, the triumphs of the left have been defined by the right to strike, holidays and unemployment insurance.

As the conservative French media Le Figaro magazine  wrote, “From the government to the opposition, everyone has understood that the French malaise is linked to work, maybe even more than to retirement”. This could explain why the two rounds of protests, on January 19 and 31, had a large showing of young people, some of whom had never participated in protests before.

Possible concessions

French Labour Minister Olivier Dussopt stated that changing the retirement age was “non-negotiable” but that other areas were open to discussion. But after the success of the January 31 protest, the government may reconsider its stance.

The president could placate the opposition by widening the category of high-risk jobs — police, firefighters and those in the military already fall under this category — or in the case of those workers engaged in manual labour.

Macron’s party, Renaissance, and its allies have a weak majority in the National Assembly and they will struggle to pass the pension law on their own. Macron has the support of The Républicans, the conservative right-wing party, who approve extending the retirement age, though some of its members oppose other aspects of the law.

The political battle surrounding pension reform will continue on two fronts: in the streets and in the National Assembly. The Unions have already promised new protests on February 7 and 11. What will it take to obtain the 289 necessary votes and avoid a rare constitutional tool to force the bill through without a vote? Addressing the situation of women and employees at the end of their career will likely be a tactic used by Macron to mollify the opposition.

With around thirty MPs from the president’s own party and from The Républicans refusing to vote for the bill in its current state, the contentious piece of legislation is likely to be the subject of intense parliamentary debates in the weeks to come.

(With AFP)