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France's top court to rule on pension reform

March 29, 2023

The Constitutional Council has the power to scrap all or parts of the bill it deems unconstitutional. Emmanuel Macron's government passed the bill by decree, saying France can no longer afford to let people retire at 62.

https://p.dw.com/p/4PRzQ
In Paris, Fire is set during the demonstration after the government pushed a pensions reform through parliament without a vote, using the article 49.3 of the constitution, in Paris on March 28, 2023.
The controvertial bill has triggered nationwide protests since the beginning of the yearImage: Quentin Veuillet/NurPhoto/IMAGO

France's Constitutional Council is set to issue on April 14 a verdict on the constitutionality of the government's much contested pension reform bill, it said on Wednesday, as protests against the bill continue.

The bill, which delays standard retirement age by two years to 64, has been met with wide opposition, though it would still leave France with one of Europe's more generous retirement plans.

The government had to pass it by decree, bypassing a vote in the lower house of parliament.

This sparked massive protests, yet President Emmanuel Macron continued to back the reform, saying it was necessary to keep France's pension system solvent.

The government has expressed willingness to talk to unions, with Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne offering a meeting next Monday and Tuesday.

Emmanuel Macron, with raised eyebrows and a hand on his forehead. Image from March 2023.
Emmanuel Macron already tried and failed to implement similar reforms in his first term, and vowed to finish what he considers a necessary job in his final termImage: Ludovic Marin/dpa/picture alliance

What is the significance of the Constitutional Council's verdict?

The council has the jurisdiction to scrap some or all of the bill, if it is deemed unconstitutional. In practice, it rarely ever strikes down entire bills.

Opposition parties are calling on the council to scrap the bill on procedural grounds. In parliament, the government had set a tight deadline for debating the bill, then bypassed a final vote on it.

Government talks with unions

The government has meanwhile invited unions for talks next week.

Laurent Berger, the head of the CFDT union, said he would take part in the meeting, but only to stress the demand of suspending the bill.

People demonstrate Tuesday, March 28, 2023 in Paris
Hundreds of thousands have been taking part in coordinated strikes on a fairly regular basisImage: Christophe Ena/AP/picture alliance

"Unions are not going to go to discuss something else," he told broadcaster franceinfo. "I'll go there to explain that this reform is a dead end."

Berger added that the government needed to understand the level of rejection of the bill, as well as the resentment regarding the way it was handled.

Protests and strikes against the reforms have been ongoing since the beginning of the year. But they intensified after the bill was passed by decree, at times even taking a violent turn.

rmt/msh (AFP, dpa, Reuters)