The French Senate approved a key article in the draft amendments to the pension system, providing for an increase in the retirement age from 62 to 64 years, and 201 members of the Council voted in favor of raising the retirement age to 115 members who voted against. , and Prime Minister Elizabeth Bourne said: “This reform is ‘balanced and fair’. And there have been widespread protests in the country over a controversial pension reform that has affected many sectors of the country, from energy to transport, education and garbage collection. This reform ” balanced and fair,” and the meeting saw a sharp exchange of views between the left opposition and the ruling right.
“Your name will forever be associated with a reform that will take us back nearly 40 years,” Socialist Senator Monique Le Pen told Labor Secretary Olivier Dussaud.
And the majority in the Senate accelerated the pace of approval of this reform before the deadline at midnight on Sunday. The Council continues to resume discussions on the remaining articles of this amendment.
The approval of this article came after massive demonstrations in France, which were attended by 1.28 million people, according to the Ministry of the Interior, and 3.5 million people, according to the General Union, to protest against the reform of the pension system in France, and The retirement age in France is one of the lowest among other European countries.
The bill provides for a gradual increase in the statutory retirement age from 62 to 64 years by 3 months annually from September 1, 2023 to 2030.
It also provides for an increase in the required social security contribution period from 42 years to 43 years for a pensioner to receive his full old-age pension, i.e. without any contribution, and the government is looking to this reform to ensure funding for the social security system, which is one of the pillars of the French social model.
Frequent opinion polls show that the vast majority of French people oppose this reform, although they expect it to be approved in the end, and it is expected, according to the government’s plan, that the French parliament in both chambers will approve this reform. by March 16th.
