Left in last-ditch bid to derail pensions overhaul

France’s left-wing forces and labour unions staged another day of strikes yesterday to try to derail President Emmanuel Macron’s pensions overhaul, insisting that the fight to thwart the changes is not over even after it became law.

Hundreds of thousands were expected to take to the streets across France for the 14th day of demonstrations since January to oppose the reform.

Mr Macron signed in April the bill to raise the pension age to 64 from 62 after the government used a controversial but legal mechanism to avoid a vote in parliament that it risked losing.

The later retirement age, which seeks to bolster France’s troubled long-term finances, was a banner pledge of Mr Macron’s second and final term in office, and its smooth implementation is seen by supporters as crucial to his legacy.

Parts of the overhaul, including the key increase in the pension age, were printed Sunday in France’s official journal, meaning they are now law.

Opponents are pinning their hopes on a motion by the small Liot faction in parliament — broadly backed by the left — to repeal the law and the increased retirement age.

Parliament speaker Yael Braun-Pivet, a member of Mr Macron’s party but officially neutral, was to rule on Thursday whether parliament could vote on returning the retirement age to 62.

This was removed from the Liot motion at commission level, but leftwing parties have sought to put it back on the agenda via an amendment.

In an op-ed for the Le Monde on Monday, the key figures from all of France’s left-wing parties urged Mr Braun-Pivet to allow a vote on the motion, at the risk of further unrest.

“For our fellow citizens, a new denial of democracy will only lead to increased disaffection for our institutions, which is already manifesting itself in the form of growing abstentionism, and even an increase in anger and violence,” they said.

The government says the changes to the pensions are essential for France’s financial health.

In April, Fitch, one of the leading credit ratings agencies, lowered its rating on France’s debt, which is approaching three trillion euros (111.5 trillion baht).