French President Emmanuel Macron has announced he has postponed his presentation of a major overhaul of France's pension system – which has been slammed by labour unions – citing recent leadership changes at two opposition parties.
As both the Green party (EELV) and the right-wing Republicans party (Les Republicains)have elected new leaders, Macron said Monday that he would consult with them before unveiling details of the major reform on 10 January, instead of this Thursday as planned.
Speaking at the latest gathering of his so-called "national refoundation council", Macron said the delay "will give a few more weeks for those ... who have taken over to discuss some of the key elements of the reform with the government."
The French president insists the retirement age needs to be extended to 64 or 65, from 62 at present in order to finance the pay-as-you-earn system, as more people live longer and enter the workforce later.
France has one of the lowest retirement ages in the European Union.
EN DIRECT | Trois mois après le lancement du Conseil national de la refondation (CNR), le Président @EmmanuelMacron organise un point d'étape sur l'avancée des travaux. https://t.co/f3EbNcCGrn
— Élysée (@Elysee) December 12, 2022
Balancing the budget
The system is likely to have a surplus of €3.2 billion this year, according to a report from the government's pensions advisory board (COR) published in September, but is forecast to fall into structural deficits in coming decades unless new financing sources are found.
Macron has also promised to streamline the country's 42 separate pension regimes, which offer early retirement and other benefits mainly to public-sector workers.
Protests loom
There has been bitter opposition to the planned reform, which has been one of Macron's long-standing targets since coming to power in 2017.
Unions staged huge protests and strikes when the reform was first attempted two years ago, before the government abandoned it as the Covid-19 crisis engulfed the world in early 2020.
The overhaul would be the most extensive in a series of pension reforms enacted by successive French governments on both the left and right in recent decades aiming to end budget shortfalls.
