Macron plays high-stakes game of political chicken over pension changes

London: Emmanuel Macron is so convinced that France cannot afford to continue losing its workforce to retirement at the age of 62 that he’s prepared to risk his authority to play a high-stakes game of political chicken.

The French president’s government faces two votes of confidence on Monday in Paris, and he has remained silent since Thursday, when his prime minister, Élisabeth Borne, was booed by MPs after announcing that she would invoke constitutional powers where the reform would be passed through parliament without a vote.

Protesters hold a banner with Emmanuel Macron’s face during a protest in Paris on Saturday.Credit: AP

Paris police clashed with demonstrators for a third day on Saturday as thousands of people marched throughout the country amid anger at the government pushing through a rise in the state pension age. The growing unrest and strikes have left Macron facing the gravest challenge to his authority since the so-called Yellow Vests protests four years ago.

Macron is accused of failing to make a direct connection with the French people, or persuade enough colleagues in the National Assembly that the change is necessary.

He has not given a press conference, media interview or speech dedicated to the reform in its current format since it was unveiled in January.

The ongoing angst and strike action is symbolised by an estimated 10,000 tonnes of rubbish piled up on the streets of Paris. Strikes at oil refineries, which are spreading, pose a serious threat to the economy while train services have also been disrupted and school exams cancelled.

A protester walks past burning garbages during a protest in Paris on Saturday.Credit: AP

Reports in national newspaper Le Monde claimed the president’s advisers were considering whether he should address the nation in an attempt to “find a way of out of the political impasse”. But the paper quoted some close aides as saying he had “no scruples and no regrets” about dodging the parliamentary vote, and that he had “no choice”.

This scenario is all very French. Almost every president for the past 40 years has in some way modified retirement laws, usually prompting anger in the polls and demonstrations.

And since Macron’s government introduced plans to push the retirement age back from 62 to 64 – France has been convulsed by regular strikes and protests that have drawn millions into the streets, not only in the capital, but in towns and villages across the country.

It is ultimately a modest reform, with the nation’s official retirement age rising gradually to 64 by 2030 and an accelerated increase in the required number of annual contributions from 41 years to 43 to qualify for a full pension.

Macron argues that without any changes, by 2030 the annual deficit in the pension regime will reach €14 billion ($22.4 billion).

But a broad alliance of France’s main unions have demonised the changes, and say they will continue to mobilise to try to force a U-turn on the changes. A further day of nationwide industrial action is scheduled for Thursday.

Published polling in the French media at the weekend revealed the decision to dodge the vote was opposed by 80 per cent of people – and even half of the president’s supporters.

All workers in France get a state pension, with the nation having the lowest qualifying age among the main European economies. The active working population pay high payroll charges and see fair pensions as the bedrock of how society should work.

People march during a protest in Paris on Saturday. More demonstrations are planned against Macron’s controversial pension reform.Credit: AP

While the retirement age may now be only 62, the actual age varies widely across the country’s complex system. Most of the more militant workers – on the railways, the Paris Metro, in electric power plants – are defending special pension regimes that allow them to retire in their 50s.

Members of the national ballet, for instance, who often start dancing at a young age, can retire as early as 42.

And so the average French person now spends more than a quarter of their life – from 22 years for men, to 26 for women – in retirement.

Official government data shows that those who made it to 65 in 2021 could expect another 11 to 12 good years, on average.

A protester wears a sign on her hairband reading “64 years, no way” during a demonstration in Marseille on Saturday.Credit: AP

Macron argues that requiring people in France to work two more years would invigorate the country’s economy and prevent its pension system from falling into deficit as the population ages. But critics have questioned the political wisdom of proceeding with the reform at a time when the public mood has been soured by high inflation.

Laurent Berger, head of the moderate CFDT union, said the retirement reform “must be withdrawn”.

“We condemn violence ... But look at the anger. It’s very strong, even among our ranks,” he said on RMC radio. “We’re fed up. We feel like we’re being trampled on and no one is listening.”

One of the confidence votes has been lodged by the right-wing National Rally, headed by Marine Le Pen, who has twice lost to Macron at a presidential election. If a vote succeeds, the government must resign, leaving Macron to either form a new administration or dissolve parliament and call elections.

A protester gestures as he walks through a cloud of tear gas at a demonstration in Nantes, western France on Saturday.Credit: AP

To reach the 287 votes needed in the National Assembly, the motion needs the support of about 30 of the 64 MPs from the centre-right Republicans. Éric Ciotti, the Republicans’ leader, has refused to support the motion, claiming: “We don’t want to add chaos to chaos.”

Antoine Bristielle, a political analyst at the Fondation Jean-Jaures, a Paris think-tank, said there’s a feeling that the government is not listening to people while behaving brutally in the National Assembly.

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen speaks to media at the National Assembly in Paris last Thursday.Credit: AP

“People cannot understand why a bill that is so overwhelmingly rejected by voters would be forced through anyway,” Bristielle said.

“The risk for Macron now is that he ends up being powerless to get anything significant done over the next four years.”

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