French government raises age to retire as strikes grind on

PARIS — France’s prime minister said Wednesday that the full retirement age will be increased for the country’s youngest, but offered concessions in an ill-fated effort to calm a nationwide protest against pension reforms that critics say will erode the nation’s way of life.

The government says it wants to make the pensions system sustainable and simpler but is facing public pressure, including a week of the most debilitating transport strikes in decades.

Major unions were quick to reject the proposals and vowed to strike on.

The day after more than 300,000 people protested across France, metro lines in Paris but two were closed and many train routes remained canceled as unions dig in their heels against President Emmanuel Macron, whom they accuse of shaping policies in favor of the rich.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe detailed the pension changes in a speech Wednesday, saying bluntly that the French “will need to work longer.”

People born after 1974 will have to work until age 64 to get a full pension, instead of 62 previously. Those born before that date will not be affected, he said.

The new scheme is aimed at replacing a complicated pension system that included dozens of special privileges for some sectors, like public transport, with one set of rules.

Philippe said the changes ensure the pension system is “fair and sustainable” for a growing population with a record number of people over 90.

For people entering the workforce, the reforms will only start to apply in 2022, which happens to be the last year of Macron’s term.