Why are people in France so angry right now? We’ve seen fire in the streets, violent clashes between police and protesters, people claiming that ‘democracy is dead’, and a seemingly endless stream of strikes and protests over the past few months with millions across France taking part.
0:00 What’s going on in France?
0:51 Why is France’s retirement age changing?
2:03 Why are people in France protesting?
3:13 President Macron’s unpopularity
4:14 The ‘Death of Democracy’ in France explained
5:18 The future of the protests in France
The reason behind these protests is French President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.
Now, seeing this level of anger over a decision about retirement age may seem confusing to people outside of France, especially considering that France had one of the lowest retirement ages for an OECD nation. Even at 64, it’s still in the bottom half.
So, why is President Macron set on pushing through this change in the first place?
In simple terms. it has to do with rising debt and an ageing population. People in France are living longer, and birth rates have been dropping. When you combine these two things you can end up with an ageing population. When a bigger percentage of your population is retired more of your country’s spending inevitably goes to pensions and health care.
Not only that, but it often means having fewer people in the workforce and that has a number of knock-on effects too (e.g. less income tax going to the government).
France is already, by far, one of the highest proportionate spenders on pensions in the OECD. It also has one of the biggest debts in proportion to its GDP in the EU. By raising the retirement age, people not only stay in the workforce longer but there are also fewer pensions to pay for. It’s a change that a number of other countries have already made in recent years.
So, why exactly are so many people in France so angry about all of this?
Generous retirement benefits and early retirement are seen as a strong & unique part of French culture and identity. There’s also the pretty basic fact that most people aren’t keen on the idea of having to work longer. Protesters say they’re also worried about age discrimination in the workplace and that this is an attack on blue collar workers.
This last point in particular ties into a bigger narrative that’s often pushed by Macron’s opponents: ‘the President – a former investment banker – is an elitist and a friend of the rich’.
The counter argument to the President’s debt rationale, is that he should be trying to fight rising debt by raising taxes on the ultra-wealthy, instead of raising the retirement age.
Macron has had issues with his popularity and approval rating in France for a while now. Recent polling shows that around 70% of the population disapproves of the job he’s doing. So, for some, these protests aren’t solely about voicing their objections to the retirement changes, but also voicing their frustrations with President Macron.
For many. the biggest reason why they’re so furious with the President. Is because of how he went about making this change.
After the 2022 election, Macron’s centrist coalition lost its majority in France’s National Assembly. So, fearing that this deeply unpopular change wouldn’t get enough votes to pass through France’s parliament, the President decided to use a special constitutional power to bypass a democratic vote in the lower house. This is why you’re hearing a lot of people in France talking about the death of democracy.
One justification for this is that President Macron said he was planning to do this while campaigning for President in 2022. Therefore, that’s what the public voted for when they elected him to a second term. However, t’s safe to say that a lot of people in France aren’t satisfied with that reasoning.
Macron says that he knows that this change is an unpopular move. but maintains that it’s a necessary one. He’s offered to meet with union leaders to try to sort out some of their concerns. In the meantime, unions have called for a further day of massive protests on May 1st and have said they won’t speak to the President, at least until then. – Nicholas Maher
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