![]() ![]() ![]() It’s easy for the people in government to say work harder, but their lives have been easy.” “Macron is out of touch, and in bed with the rich. “If we don’t speak up now then all our rights that the French have fought for will be lost.” said Nicolas Durand, a 33-year-old actor. Others said “Paris enraged,” or “If rights aren’t defended, they’ll be trampled.” An array of banners set the tone: “They say capitalism. In Paris, loud music and huge union balloons kicked off the 8th nationwide round of protests. Something must be done, the president has argued, to sustain France's current levels of pension payments with the retiree population expected to grow from 16 to 21 million by 2050. Spain's solution is exactly what French unions would like, but Macron has refused to raise taxes, saying it would make the country’s economy less competitive. And Spain's left-wing government joined with labor unions to announce a “historic” deal to save its pension system by raising social security costs for higher wage earners. In Britain on Wednesday, teachers, junior doctors and public transport staff were striking for higher wages to match rising prices. Unions remained combative late Wednesday, calling on lawmakers to vote against the plan and denouncing the government’s legal shortcuts to move the bill forward as a dangerous “denial of democracy.”Įconomic challenges have prompted widespread unrest across Western Europe. ![]() Macron has promoted the changes as central to his vision for making the French economy more competitive. The plan also would deny a full pension to anyone who retires at 64 without having worked for 43 years - short of that, they'd have to wait until 67. If not, he could risk imposing the unpopular changes unilaterally. It remains to be seen whether Macron can command a parliamentary majority for his plan to raise the age from 62 to 64 so that workers can pay more money into the system. PARIS – Thousands of people angered over President Emmanuel Macron's plan to raise the retirement age joined a national strike on Wednesday as a committee of lawmakers advanced the proposal. ![]()
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