French lawmakers debate Macron's controversial pension bill
PARIS (AP) — France’s parliament on Monday started debating a deeply controversial pension bill aiming to raise the minimum retirement age that’s touched off a wave of strikes and large street demonstrations, with more protests set to come this week.
The lower house, the National Assembly, began debating the planned raising of the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64 a day before a third round of protests called by eight main workers’ unions, with more demonstrations planned Saturday.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s government is now facing a harsh political battle in parliament that could span weeks or months.
Macron vowed to go ahead with the changes – his second presidential term’s flagship legislation — which he described last week as “indispensable when you compare to (other countries) in Europe.”
Despite opinion polls consistently showing growing opposition to the reform and his own popularity shrinking, Macron insisted that he's living up to a key campaign pledge he made when he swept to power in 2017 and again ahead of his reelection in April.
Labor Minister Olivier Dussopt vigorously defended the bill Monday, saying: “We are here! I believe deeply in this reform. We will be part of improving our social model, we’re not deceiving people!”
Public Accounts Minister Gabriel Attal took it a step further by calling it a stark choice between “reform or bankruptcy.”
But left-wing opposition leaders said many voters cast their ballots for Macron without embracing his election platform, including pension reform. They argued votes for Macron in last year’s runoff were primarily cast to rebuff his far-right rival Marine Le Pen.
Last week, an estimated 1.27 million people took to the streets, according to authorities, more than in the first big protest day on Jan. 19....