French Workers Strike Over Macron Plan --- More than a million take to the streets to protest proposal to raise retirement age

"PARIS -- More than a million people took to the streets and workers across France went on strike to protest the government's plan to raise the country's retirement age, kicking off what is expected to be a protracted battle between unions and President Emmanuel Macron.

The French capital ground to a halt on Thursday as teachers and railway, health and oil workers went on strike, forcing many schools and nurseries to shut. Several museums, including the Louvre, said parts of their collections wouldn't open. Trains, subways and buses were curtailed and dozens of flights canceled.

Protests were mainly peaceful, but some clashes erupted in Paris. Protesters threw projectiles at police officers, who responded with tear gas. More than 10,000 police officers were deployed across the country.

The showdown will determine whether France can overhaul a social-welfare model that is popular among voters but increasingly expensive. Mr. Macron's government wants to raise the retirement age to 64 in 2030 from 62, arguing that it is the only way to preserve France's pension system without raising taxes or increasing debt.

"We must carry out this reform," Mr. Macron said Thursday in Barcelona, where he attended a Franco-Spanish summit. "We will do it with respect and in a spirit of dialogue, but with determination."

Similar debates are playing out across Europe as populations age and people live longer, putting growing pressure on government finances. France has one of the lowest poverty rates among the elderly in Europe, but it spent 13.8% of its gross domestic product on pensions in 2021 -- more than most other European countries.

The proposed change has become a symbol of Mr. Macron's effort to make France more competitive. The protests will mark an early test of his ability to enact his pro-business agenda during his second term in office.

The retirement age in France is lower than in most other European countries. Italians can stop working at 67, while employees in the U.K. retire at 66. 

In Sweden, however, the retirement age is 62.

Unions have vowed to block Mr. Macron's plans. They say increasing the retirement age would penalize people who started working at a young age and increase unemployment among older workers.

Some energy sector unions are threatening to cut off electricity to lawmakers defending the pension overhaul.

"I suggest they also go see the nice properties, the nice chateaux of billionaires," Philippe Martinez, the general secretary of the CGT, France's second-largest union, said Wednesday. "It would be good if we cut off their electricity so that they can put themselves, for a few days, in the shoes of French households who can't afford to pay their bills."

CGT employees in France's electricity sector said they lowered the country's power generation by 7,000 megawatts starting Wednesday evening as part of the strike. The moves reduced or shut output at about six of France's nuclear-power plants and forced the country to import about 15% of its total electricity supply from neighboring countries.

A recent survey of 1,008 people by polling and market-research firm Ifop showed 68% of French people oppose Mr. Macron's proposed pension move.

The government wants to reduce its pension spending to cut the nation's public-sector budget deficit. It aims to reduce it to below a European Union ceiling of 3% of economic output in 2027, from 5% in 2022." [1]

1. World News: French Workers Strike Over Macron Plan --- More than a million take to the streets to protest proposal to raise retirement age
Bisserbe, Noemie.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 20 Jan 2023: A.16.