PARIS (AP) – French President Emmanuel Macron insisted on the need for raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 in order to make the French pension system financially sustainable in the coming years, in a letter to workers’ unions released on Friday.
The move comes after more than a million demonstrators marched in cities and towns across France this week as train and metro drivers, refinery workers and others started open-ended strikes against the centrist government’s plan.
According to the letter provided by the President’s Office, Macron said he made the choice to “make the French work a little longer” because other options, which he rejected, would have involved “decreasing pensions, raising taxes or letting our children and grandchildren carry the financial burden”.
Union leader Francois Hommeril of the CFE-CGC, which represents workers in the energy sector, among others, said on Friday that Macron’s letter appeared to be another “missed opportunity” for the president to pursue reforms while listening to concerned workers.
The president “acts as if the social movement did not exist”, French broadcaster BFM TV quoted Hommeril as saying. He added, “I am very disappointed and worried about (Macron’s) response.”
Opinion polls consistently show a majority of the French oppose the change. Left-wing lawmakers argue companies and the wealthy should pitch in more to finance the pension system.
Macron also recalled the measure was a key promise from his presidential campaign last year, adding that he made a concession by agreeing to put the age limit at 64, down from 65 as initially planned.
“You strongly express your disagreement,” Macron wrote to the unions. “I don’t underestimate the discontent… as well as the anxiety expressed by many French people who have concerns about never getting any pension.”
