PARIS (AFP) – French President Emmanuel Macron signed his controversial pension reform into law yesterday, defying three months of protests and pleas from unions not to implement the legislation.
The alterations became law after the text was published before dawn in France’s official journal, prompting accusations from the opposition Macron was seeking to smuggle it through in the depth of the night.
The publication came just hours after the approval on Friday by the Constitutional Council of the essence of the legislation, including the headline change of raising the retirement age from 62 to 64.
Unions warned they were calling for mass Labour Day protests on May 1, and sometimes violent demonstrations erupted in several cities overnight after the verdict was announced.
The battle to implement the law turned into the biggest domestic challenge of Macron’s second mandate, as he faced widespread popular opposition to the changes but also sliding personal popularity.
Socialist leader Olivier Faure said that Macron’s swift signing of the law showed “disdain” towards the protest movement while hard-left MP Francois Ruffin called it a “democratic hold-up”.
“A law enacted in the middle of the night, like thieves,” tweeted French Communist Party chief Fabien Roussel. “Everyone on the street May 1.” The nine-member Constitutional Council ruled in favour of key provisions of the reform, including raising the retirement age to 64 and extending the years of work required for a full pension, saying the legislation was in accordance with French law.
