Protests across France to test Macron government's resolve over pension reform

Paris: Thousands of people gathered to take part in demonstrations across France on Saturday as protesters attempt to keep up the pressure on the Emmanuel Macron-led government over its plans to make people work longer before retiring. After three days of nationwide strikes since the beginning of the year, unions are hoping to match a mass turnout from January 19 when more than a million people marched in opposition to pushing the age to take a full state pension to 64 from 62. “I am expecting a lot of people. We need to be extremely numerous,” Laurent Berger, head of the CFDT union, the country’s largest, said on Friday, adding that some 250 demonstrations were planned across the country. “There is a form of contempt (from the government). There is no answer to the (social) movement and there needs to be one,” he said. The French people spend the largest number of years in retirement among OECD countries - a benefit that opinion polls show a substantial majority are reluctant to give up. President Emmanuel Macron says the reform is “vital” to ensuring the viability of the pension system. Saturday’s protests are the first on a weekend, when workers do not need to strike or take time off to march. They also come after the first week of debate on the pension legislation in the French parliament. The opposition has suggested thousands of amendments to complicate the debate and ultimately try to force the government to pass the bill without a parliamentary vote and through decree, a move that could sour the rest of Macron’s mandate. He was re-elected in April 2022 for five years. Changing the retirement age by two years and extending the pay-in period would yield an additional 17.7 billion euros ($19.18 billion) in annual pension contributions, allowing the system to break even by 2027, according to Labour Ministry estimates. Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.