Raising French retirement age to 64 is 'non-negotiable', says PM Borne as strikes loom

 

France's prime minister on Sunday ruled out backtracking on a plan to raise the retirement age as unions prepared for another day of mass protests against the contested reform. 

An increase in the minimum retirement age to 64 from the current 62 is part of a flagship reform package pushed by President Emmanuel Macron to ensure the future financing of France's pensions system.

After union protests against the change brought out over a million people into the streets on January 19, the government signalled there was wiggle room on some measures.

They included special deals for people who started working very young, and provisions for mothers who interrupted their careers to look after their children and for people who invested in further education.

But the headline age limit of 64 was not up for discussion, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said Sunday.

"This is now non-negotiable," she told the FranceInfo broadcaster.

While unions have welcomed the government's readiness for negotiation on parts of the plan, they say the proposed 64-year rule has to go.

Calling the reform "unfair" France's eight major unions, in a rare show of unity, said they hoped to "mobilise even more massively" on Tuesday, their next scheduled protest day, than at the January 19 rallies.

https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20230129-france-s-legal-retirement-age-is-now-non-negotiable-says-pm-borne-as-strikes-loom