01/18/2023 23:00 (act. 01/18/2023 23:10)
About 750,000 protesters are expected ©APA/AFP/Archive
In France, hundreds of thousands want to strike against planned pension reform on Thursday and take to the streets. According to media reports, up to 750,000 people are expected to take part in the massive strike against what is probably President Emmanuel Macron’s most important project. His government wants to gradually raise the regular retirement age from 62 to 64. In addition, the number of years of payment required for a full pension is expected to increase more rapidly.
The government wants to raise the minimum pension to around 1,200 euros a month. People who started work early should retire early. According to the government, the current pension system is approaching a funding deficit. Unions, left and nationalist right criticize the project as brutal and unfair. Strikes are threatened in schools, air traffic controllers, on the railways and in hospitals.