Reform or Revolution? French Politics at the Crossroads

Abstract

POLITICAL INSIGHT • MARCH 2023 F rance is no stranger to industrial action, but even by French standards 2023 has been notable. By February, five days of national ‘mobilisation’ had already taken place, with more planned. The protests disrupted daily life and generated all-too familiar images of France: pictures of an unhappy populace, and a divided political class unable to agree, or even disagree, on what should happen. Lying just below the surface of these familiar visuals is a crucial political trigger: President Emmanuel Macron’s intention to reform the state pension and, specifically, to raise the legal retirement age from 62 to 64, in increments, by 2030. The proposed reforms have dominated French politics in recent months. A government Bill to ‘correct the finances of the social security system’ has been put before Parliament for debate, first in the lower house (the National Assembly) and then in Reform or Revolution? French Politics at the Crossroads