France braces for ruling on plan to raise retirement age

Emmanuel Macron: Can the mobilization in France continue as it should be on the eve of the Parliamentary council’s decision?

Protesters forced their way into the Paris headquarters of luxury giant LVMH, as France saw a fresh round of demonstrations over government plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.

Fabien Villedieu, a union leader, told CNN that if the President wants to find money to finance the pension system, he should come here.

Protesters might hit out against what they see as capitalist signs, according to the police chief in Paris.

There have been a lot of protests across France this year over the pension system. There have been violent clashes between police and demonstrators.

The country must continue to move forward, says President of France,EmmanuelMacron, who argues reforms are essential to rein in public finances.

Speaking at an incinerator picket line near Paris on Thursday morning, Sophie Binet, the new head of the GGT, one of France’s main unions, insisted: “As long as the pension reform is not withdrawn, the mobilization will continue one way or another.”

I am supporting the movements in Paris on the eve of the constitutional council’s decision.

Friday’s ruling will be decisive on whether the protests will continue. The CFDT, France’s other main union, has been more amenable to a negotiated settlement.

The French Parliament will be ruled on the constitutionality of changes to France’s pension system after the 12th day of protests last week

Garbage is meanwhile also set to fill the streets of Paris once more as collectors and incinerator workers are on strike again, according to the CGT union.

In Paris, there is heightened security in place as the country braces for a ruling on the constitutionality of changes to France’s pension system.

The retirement age in France will be raised from 55 to 64, a huge win for the president in the face of protests across the country.

An expert in French constitutional law told CNN the police operation to protect the court is unprecedented. “As far back as I can remember, I’ve never seen images like this before,” Laureline Fontaine said.

Widespread protests caused major services across the country to be blocked this year over a proposal by the French President. Garbage is on the streets of Paris.

This weekend, the law is expected to be enacted. From September the first retirees will have to wait an additional three months for their state pensions. With regular, incremental increases, by 2030 the retirement age will have reached 64.

If the court finds that the law in unconstitutional, it cannot be enacted. This is unlikely and would be a political earthquake for Macron, whose government pushed through the legislation without a direct vote by using special constitutional powers.

On Thursday was the 12th day of protests against the proposals. Hundreds of thousands took to the streets but the interior ministry’s turnout figure – 380,000 – is nearly 200,000 less than the previous round of protests.

The French Senate is refusing to vote on a constitutional reform that will mark the end of the relationship between the French president and the government – a statement from Marine Le Pen

France has state pensions that are more generous than other countries. At nearly 14% of GDP in 2018, the country’s spending on state pensions is larger than in most other countries, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

In the United States and the United Kingdom, the retirement age is between 66 and 67, depending on the year you were born. Current legislation envisages a further rise from 67 to 68 in Britain between 2044 and 2046 (although the timing of this increase is being reviewed and could change).

The Constitutional Council – akin to the US Supreme Court – struck down some elements of the new law, but the most controversial element remains: the gradual upping of the retirement age.

Marine Le Pen is a far-right lawmaker. She said in a statement that the reform will mark the end of the relationship between the French people and the president.

The Constitutional Council refused the opposition’s first request to hold a referendum on the reform. A petition to hold a referendum on the reform is still under consideration.

Far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon said the decision shows the council “is more attentive to the needs of the presidential monarchy than to those of the sovereign people” while the far-right’s Marine Le Pen urged those who oppose the changes to vote for her at the next election.

Activists are planning new protests Saturday to keep pressure on the government to withdraw the bill.

Hundreds of protests against a referendum on 62 as the maximum official retirement age: “We don’t want it” from the Prime Minister’s frustrated frustrations

In a separate but related decision, the council rejected a request by left-wing lawmakers to allow for a possible referendum on enshrining 62 as the maximum official retirement age. Next month, the council will rule on another similar request.

“We are protesting for so many weeks and the government didn’t hear us,” she said. “Workers who have gone on strike or protested the legislation since January are fighting “for their rights, but nothing changes.”

The labor unions were invited to meet with the president no matter what the decision was, according to his office. The unions called for mass protests on May 1 when international workers’ rights day is observed, because they said that he had refused their previous offers of a meeting.

Unions have been the organizers of 12 nationwide protests since January and have a critical role in trying to tamp down excessive reactions by protesters. The marches were peaceful but violence by some ultra- left radicals had marked them.

The prime minister was interrupted while visiting a supermarket outside Paris by a group of people chanting, “We don’t want it,” referring to the way she skirted the vote by lawmakers to advance the pension reform.

The government’s decision to get around a parliamentary vote in March by using special constitutional powers heightened the fury of the measure’s opponents, as well as their determination. Another group awaited Borne in the parking lot.

Holding out hope to upend the decision, unions and some protesters recalled parallels with a contested 2006 measure about work contracts for youth that sent students, joined by unions, into the streets. That legislation had been pushed through parliament without a vote and given the green light by the Constitutional Council — only to be later scrapped to bring calm to the country.