A Modern French Revolution
The French Revolution arose in 1789 as the masses fought to redistribute power to the people and have their opinions to be represented in government. Yet in March 2023, the French citizens are fighting for their needs to be met just like they did 234 years ago.
Why is history repeating itself? In January, President Macron revealed his plan to raise the legal age of retirement in France from 62 to 64 by 2030. This 2-year age increase led to significant uprisings along the streets of Paris, Lyon, Marseille, and other major cities. Among these major cities include Bordeaux, where protestors set the city hall on fire. These protests continued to grow in March, with over 1 million protesters, and are still rising over the disapproval of this reform.
Why is the President raising the legal age of retirement? An increase in life expectancy and declining birth rates place pressure on the sustainability of pension systems. (Väänänen & Liukko, 2022). Macron’s pension reform plan is meant to compensate for increasing longevity and lower birth rates in France. Raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 intends to alleviate the estimated €1.8 billion deficit in the country’s pension system. This deficit is expected to increase to €10.7 billion in 2025 and €21.2 billion in 2035 (Person, 2023). Macron explains this plan is necessary to ensure the future of a pension system that relies on working-age contributors as life expectancy rises by 1.6 years. The former pension plan, established in 2011, was measured to accommodate the average life expectancy of 81.5 years. In 2023, the average life expectancy in France is 83.1 years. This current pension reform is intended to accommodate the increase in life expectancy by 1.6 years. He recognizes the unpopularity of this reform but states it is necessary to ensure the amount of money given is not more than the money received. As life expectancy increases and the population grows older, the number of active workers who fund each pension gets smaller. If the retirement age stays at 62, there would be only 1.2 tax-paying workers to support each retiree in 2070, down from 1.7 in 2020, government data indicates. The 0.5 percentage decrease means the financial burden to provide for the retirees would be greater for the working individual. Meaning, the person will have to pay more to financially support the retiree (Person, 2023).
Macron continued to push this reform proposal, bypassing the National Assembly, allowing this change to be enacted without the approval of the largest representative legislative body in France. He invoked Article 49.3 of the French Constitution enabling the government to pass a bill without a National Assembly vote. Although lawmakers can file a no-confidence vote against the government within 24 hours, the government persevered through a no-confidence vote in the National Assembly on March 20th, meaning his pension plan will become law. Although this reform survived a no-confidence vote, there is significant disapproval from the masses. Opinion polls show two-thirds of French people oppose the pension changes and support the protest movement (Press, 2023). As the opinion of the public conflicts with the opinion of the government, the masses are protesting against Macron’s decision. Trade unions argue this reform will penalize low-income workers who are predominantly in manual labor jobs. Since those who work in manual labor jobs tend to begin working earlier than those with graduate degrees, graduates will have to work less to receive the same benefits. Critics argue this plan will disproportionately affect blue-collar workers who begin working earlier and often die earlier than white-collar workers. (Noack, 2023) The most disadvantaged people in France are being negatively affected the most by this reform. Protestors have also argued against perceptions that workers are lazy, expressing their belief in the government’s role in deteriorating working conditions that influence dissatisfaction among workers.
The most significant reason for protests is not just the increase in age, it is Macron’s decision to implement Article 49.3 because of the lack of democracy. The majority of people are upset over the deliberate effort Macron made to implement this plan without the approval of the National Assembly. By avoiding the National Assembly, their opinions are unable to be represented. This choice is argued to be anti-democratic as it does not allow members of the National Assembly, who have been elected by the people to represent their voices, to have an impact on crucial issues. In this pension reform process, the people were not given the authority to have their opinions represented in government. The main concern is the lack of democracy, similar to the French Revolution, as the voices of the people are being overridden by those in power.
Works Cited
Väänänen, N., & Liukko, J. (2022). Justifying a financially and Socially Sustainable Pension Reform: A comparative study of Finland and France. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy.
Press, T. A. (2023, March 28). A new wave of pension protest breaks out in France as police brace for violence. NPR. Retrieved April 1, 2023, from https://www.npr.org/2023/03/28/1166436439/france-protest-strike-pension-retirement
Guardian News and Media. (2023, March 16). Why are pensions such a political flashpoint in France? The Guardian. Retrieved April 1, 2023, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/16/why-are-pensions-such-a-political-flashpoint-in-france-macron
Person. (2023, March 16). The party is ending for French retirees. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 1, 2023, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/french-pension-strikes-retirement-age-reform-macron-ce377388
Breeden, A. (2023, March 16). What is Article 49.3 of the French Constitution? The New York Times. Retrieved April 1, 2023, from https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/16/world/europe/france-constitution-article-49-3.html
Noack, R. (2023, March 8). Striking French workers dispute that they want a right to 'laziness'. The Washington Post. Retrieved April 1, 2023, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/03/07/france-strikes-pensions-transport/
