French President Emmanuel Macron pledged on Wednesday to implement a pension reform that would eventually raise the retirement age by three years to 65, making younger generations work longer.
Macron said in an interview with France 2 television that the changes would take effect next year.
“There is only one way to do it if we are clear. Since we live longer, work is longer.”
He said the minimum retirement age for a full pension would gradually rise from 62 now to 65 by 2031.
However, Macron said he was “open” to discussing the retirement age with unions and making possible adjustments.
Such procedures apply to persons who have worked enough to qualify. Those who do not meet the requirements, such as many women who are interrupting their careers to raise their children, must currently work until age 67.
All French workers receive a state pension. Macron said failure to implement these changes meant the government would need to reduce the size of pensions.
Macron’s comments come after his centrist coalition lost its parliamentary majority in June, making it more difficult for his government to get laws in the lower house of parliament. Most opposition parties, as well as trade unions, oppose the pension change.
Macron offered, on Wednesday, to ally with deputies from the conservative Republican Party to pass internal reforms in Parliament, including changes to pensions.
Earlier this week, his government survived three votes of no-confidence pushed by some opposition MPs from both the left and the far right to protest the use of special constitutional power to force budget bills through the National Assembly.
The proposed pension reform sparked nationwide strikes and protests at the end of 2019 during Macron’s first term. The government then decided to suspend the debate amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Macron was re-elected for a second term in April.
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