French authorities presented a project to raise the retirement age

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Born on the evening of January 10 presented a preliminary plan for pension reform. From September 1, 2023, the country proposes to raise the retirement age by three months a year to bring it to 64 years by 2030. It is proposed to limit the length of service to 43 years, persons with incomplete experience are proposed to retire at 67 by the end of reforms. The need for such measures was justified by the reduction in the number of actively working taxpayers providing for pensioners and the growth of the budget deficit. A detailed draft will be submitted to the French Council of Ministers on January 23, and parliamentary debate on this issue will begin at the end of the first quarter.

Born stressed that she had previously discussed the reform plan with the leaders of parliamentary parties and trade unions, and he will continue to be open for discussion. The leader of the far-right opposition National Rally, Jordan Bardella (who replaced Marine le Pen in November 2022), has already announced the party’s intention to “lead” the opposition to reform. Opposition leftists from the New People’s Ecological and Social Union (Nupes) have taken a wait-and-see approach, emphasizing that they are focusing on maintaining the existing seniority for retirement (for a full pension is 43 years). The leader of the Republican Party, moderately opposed to the ruling coalition “Together!” (Ensemble!), Eric Ciotti said on January 10 that his faction in the National Assembly would be ready to vote for the reform if it was “fair”. According to a Harris Interactive-Toluna poll for the RTL television channel, published on January 2, 44% of respondents were in favor of the reform in France, while 54% were against it.