Protesters participated in marches across France today, Wednesday, in a last-ditch effort to convince lawmakers not to support President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform bill, which raises the retirement age by two years to 64. Demonstrators marched carrying signs that read "No to extending to 64 years" and union banners with slogans like "Public and private sectors together for our pensions."
Laurent Berger, head of the French Democratic Confederation of Labor, spoke to a crowd of protesters in Paris, stating, "Lawmakers need to pay attention to what is happening in their constituencies." He added that this new day of protests "aims to tell lawmakers: do not support this reform."
Despite the criticism, the pension bill was presented to a joint parliamentary committee today, as lawmakers in the French National Assembly seek to reach a compromise text. The committee approved the provision to raise the retirement age. If an agreement on the entire bill is reached, a final vote will be conducted in both chambers of Parliament tomorrow, Thursday. Officials from the ruling party acknowledged that the margin between supporters and opponents is slim.
If the legislative text does not receive a comfortable majority, the government may resort to a procedure known as Article 49.3, which allows it to pass the text without a vote, but risks triggering public anger in the streets.
