This is THE burning issue of Emmanuel Macron’s five-year term: pension reform. This thorniest subject must be officially presented on January 10, 2023. The government, which wishes at all costs to avoid a major social conflict, is betting on a rapid implementation of the reform. Earlier in the month, the Minister of Labor Olivier Dussopt announced which were the points of the measure which seem already decided because consensual.
During a press conference, he recalled that the executive wanted to “ensure the financial sustainability of the system” by extending working hours by postponing the legal retirement age to 65 or 64 years old. Before ensuring: there is no question, in this reform, of going “beyond 43 years of contribution to access the full rate”. On the other hand, certain elements will remain unchanged: this is the case of the early departure ages for people in a situation of disability or incapacity, as well as the automatic age for cancellation of the discount.
In its reform, the government wishes to improve the employment of seniors thanks to an index for companies with more than 50 employees. In the same logic, the use of combined employment and retirement should be facilitated. In addition, gradual retirement and better consideration of hardship should also be at the heart of the executive’s bill.
Other measures, for their part, are likely to make more waves. Because to pass its pension reform, the government will have to convince the unions, but also the opposition parties. In this sense, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne met, this Wednesday, December 21, 2022, the new president of the Republicans (LR) Eric Ciotti… And the latter wanted to set his conditions.
As a reminder, Emmanuel Macron intends to keep his campaign promise, namely to push back the legal retirement age to 65 by 2031. A subject that animated the meeting between Elisabeth Borne and Eric Ciotti, according to information of Midi Libre.
At the end of these discussions, the deputy of the Alpes-Maritimes declared: “I asked the Prime Minister the conditions for this reform to see the light of day. We will not support the pension reform at any time. price”.
While the executive only holds a relative majority in the National Assembly, and all of the left and far right have already hammered home that they would not support the project, The Republicans seem to be the buoy government relief. What adjustments should the latter make to gain party support?
Eric Ciotti considers Emmanuel Macron’s proposal too harsh, too brutal: “We measure that going to 65 immediately is probably too brutal compared to the situation that the French are experiencing (…) Reform, yes, but let’s discuss the pace and timing of that reform.”
In addition, the President of the Republicans wishes to discuss again small pensions, in particular those of women who have not been able to contribute all their lives.
On the side of the legal age, several sounds of bell within the party. Aurélien Pradié, competitor of Eric Ciotti for the presidency of the Republicans, does not wish to modify the legal age, only the duration of contribution.
The president of the group at the National Assembly, Olivier Marleix, wishes for his part to postpone the starting age to 63 years.
“The senatorial majority is asking for a postponement of the legal age to 64 years accompanied by an acceleration of the implementation of the 2014 reform which provides for an increase in the contribution period to obtain retirement at full”, concludes the regional daily.
