France's Constitutional Council rejects bid for pension referendum

Macron overcame weeks of violent protests and fierce union opposition to his plan to increase the retirement age to 64 years by raising it two years. He rammed the legislation through the parliament and signed it into law without a final voting.

In a press release, the council stated that the referendum proposal did not meet legal criteria defined by the constitution.

Since Macron bypassed the parliament, opposition legislators have twice turned to the Constitutional Council in an effort to derail this reform. They sought its approval each time for a referendum regarding the retirement age.

The role of the council was to determine whether the opposition's demand met the legal requirements for a referendum.

The first attempt was already rejected, in part because the pension law had not yet been enacted. Also, the referendum proposal would have had no effect on the law.

Macron claims that the French will have to work harder if they don't want the budget for pensions to be in the red by billions of euro every year within the next decade.

The pension system is the cornerstone of France’s beloved social protection model. But labour unions argue that the money could be found in other places, such as by taxing the wealthy more heavily.

The unions and opposition will now focus on a national day of protests planned for 6 June, just two days before the lawmakers debate an opposition motion that would annul the pension law.

Despite the focus on the retirement age, only 36% retire at 62. Another 36% retire later due to the requirement to pay more into the system to receive a full pension.

Despite this, OECD data shows that French pension payments are higher in France as a percentage of earnings before retirement.

Opinion polls indicate that a large majority of voters oppose the new law.

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