French Opinion on Retirement Reforms

Protests over retirement reforms to raise the minimum retirement age from 60 to 62 and the maximum retirement age to from 65 to 67 have been gaining momentum as the date to vote on the bill draws near. According to recent polls, 70 percent of French people object to the reforms. Indeed, most of the people I have talked to, from musicians to engineers to business executives, have expressed their opposition. 

Strikers explained to me that French people have to work a certain number of terms in order to qualify for a full pension. With the new reforms, this number has risen to from 40 to 42 years. This means that if people spend more time in University completing Master or Doctorate degrees before entering the work force, they may have to wait until 67 in order to receive their full pension. The protesters are also concerned that people who begin working at very early ages or who have physically demanding jobs will be forced to retire at 62 instead of 60.

As well, Government officials tend to get significantly better pensions and are able to retire much earlier. For example, SNCF workers (Railway Transportation) are able to retire at 57 on a full pension. In the public sector, the pension a person receives is a percentage of their salary based on their last six months of work. In the private sector, pensions are based on the best 25 years of a person's career.

In a country where striking has been referred to as the national sport, the protesters are not giving up without a fight. Parents even bring their children to  protests, instilling in them early the culture of striking. They bear signs that read: “I am 11 years old. I’d better start working now if I want to get a full pension” and “By the time I retire, I won’t remember how old I am.”

However, some people also recognize the need for the reforms. A engineer told me: “Of course we don’t want to retire later, but maybe we need to face the truth that it is necessary.” France’s National Debt is staggering and life expectancy is increasing. With a predicted ratio of two working people for every retired person in the years to come, the Government will be hard-pressed to find the funds to support  its growing number of retirees.