As of Thursday morning, 193 senators voted in favor of the text, 114 voted against, and 38 abstained. In the National Assembly, as the second chamber of parliament, the vote on gradually raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 is due in the afternoon.
If the MPs agree, the project would finally have passed Parliament. Until the very end, however, the government could not be sure of getting a majority for what is probably its most important project. It is conceivable that she will box the reform with the help of a special article in the constitution without a vote by the National Assembly.
Currently, the retirement age in France is 62 years. In fact, retirement begins later on average: those who have not paid in long enough to receive a full pension work longer. At the age of 67 there is then a pension without a deduction, regardless of the payment period – the government wants to keep this, even if the number of payment years required for a full pension is to increase more quickly. The government wants to increase the monthly minimum pension to around 1,200 euros. With the reform, she wants to take action against impending holes in the pension fund.
Despite the massive protests, the passage of the pension reform in France has reached the home straight. “We think that the positions of one side and the other are compatible,” said Labor Minister Olivier Dussopt. The Senate voted in favor of it in the morning – but it was still unclear whether the necessary majority would come together in the National Assembly. For President Emmanuel Macron, pension reform is at the heart of his government agenda.
