PARIS — France’s Constitutional Council cleared Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the retirement age, giving the French president a boost in his attempt to turn the page on an episode that has left him deeply unpopular and compromised his ability to enact further legislation.
The nine-member body made up chiefly of former politicians and senior civil servants approved the core elements of the law, including the key contested provision that would increase the minimum retirement age by two years to 64.
They also rejected one of two opposition-backed demands for a process that could lead to a referendum on keeping the age cutoff at 62 — a move that would have prolonged political and legal uncertainty. The council will issue a ruling on the second request on May 3.
The council struck down some peripheral provisions of the law, but that is unlikely to force a wholesale revision and the measures could yet be included in other bills.
While the constitutional green light is a source of relief for Macron, he still faces deep opposition to the pension reform. Labor unions have remained unusually united through the protests with opinion polls showing a majority of French people oppose raising the retirement age and support the strikes that started in January.
Even the moderate CFDT union has indicated it will continue to participate in the pushback against the law, including at marches on May 1. Before then, Macron has two weeks to enact the law, although he could still opt not to apply it, as predecessors have done when under pressure from protests at this stage in the legislative process.
“This evening there is neither a winner nor a loser,” Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne tweeted after the ruling. Macron invited unions to meet at the Elysee on Tuesday, his office said, noting that the invitation, made before the council’s decision, held regardless of the outcome.
Police are expecting as many as 10,000 people to protest in Paris later on Friday, according to Agence France-Presse.
Opposition lawmakers who requested a Constitutional Council review of the law argued the government had used an inappropriate vehicle for the reform, as well as tools that hastened the process and made debates unclear and insincere. Unions and protesters were particularly angered by Macron’s use of a provision to bypass a vote on the bill when it became clear he lacked a majority in the National Assembly.
“We can’t expect the Constitutional Council to fix a problem that’s purely political — it never wanted to play that role,” said Samy Benzina, a law professor at the University of Poitiers. “The council doesn’t want to engage in politics, or say whether or not the reform is a good one.”
The measures that were struck down include an obligation for large companies to disclose employment rates of older workers and the creation of a new contract to encourage hiring over-60s. The removed provisions, which were concessions the government made to try to get the support of opposition groups, can still be adopted in separate legislation.
Macron’s government says raising the pension age is vital to boost employment rates and halt the build-up of deficits in the massive public retirement system as the population ages. Unions say changing the age thresholds to claim a full pension will disproportionately penalize the least well-off and that there are other options to balance the system, including higher taxes on business and the wealthy.
The council said it considered that the French constitution calls for a solidarity policy for retired workers but gives lawmakers latitude to decide on the concrete arrangements. It also said that the aim of raising the retirement age was meant to ensure the financial equilibrium of the pension system and that “it took into account in particular the lengthening of life expectancy.”
