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French Protest Against New Retirement Pension Plan

Evelina Weary |
October 25, 2010 | 1:24 a.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

French protesters (Creative Commons)
French protesters (Creative Commons)
What age should one have to reach in order to retire and recieve a pension? That's the major being question being asked right now. Not surprisingly, the proposed answer has caused a lot of controversy.

If you haven't been following the situation, here's what you've missed: hundreds of thousands of protesters have been taking ove the streets in France in opposition to the proposed retirement age hike in order to receive a pension.
 
President Nicholas Sarkozy proposed a bill last week that would raise the retirement age from 60 to 62, in order from keeping the French government going bankrupt. The lower house already passed it by a vote of 329 to 233. This unpopular bill has sparked nationwide controversy that led to hundreds of cancelled flights, a third of gas stations being empty, half of train services being cut and cars being set on fire.
 
Students from 379 high schools skipped class to join the protests. Masked youths knocked an Associated Press Photographer off of his motorbike and kicked and punched him while others turned more violent and smashed store widows. French unions estimate that a total of 3.5 million people have protested the new pension plan nationwide.
 
The interior minister, Brice Hortefeux, told the rioters, “The right to protest is not the right to break things, the right to set things on fire, the right to assault, the right to pillage.”

Hortefeux is absolutely right. There is a difference between making a point and seriously violating laws and harming people. If you want to make a point, effectively communicating with the government is probably the better route to go than than making them angry. Maybe if the government decided to cut off all food supply, a violent protest would be seen as justified. However, for a retirement age hike of two years, this level of civil disobedience is a bit dramatic.

The conservative government argues that the proposed retirement age one of the lowest in the world and the French people are living longer. Opponents believe the government can find pension savings elsewher,e like raising employer’s contributions. They also worry for their future job opportunities if workers are keeping their jobs for an additional two years.

The age of 62 is already young for retirement, especially when you consider in the US, the age is 65.  Moreover, the French already receive a month of vacation if they work in the public sector. In the United States, an employee would expect two weeks of vacation only after working a certain amount of time.

If the French are living longer, according to their President, then two years is not the biggest difference. They would be spending their time in different activities so why not help make money for their country? An additional two years of work probably will not make the job market fail.

Sarkozy has also taken steps to alleviate the gasoline problem. Frances’s 11 active refineries are on strike and refills are being limited to eight gallons. The French president believes that the “troublemakers”, as he calls the protesters, should not cause problems with the people who are still trying to go to work. He worries that if the protests continue, jobs could face serious consequences and the health of the economy would suffer. Then, he might just have to raise more taxes and change laws so that the country doesn't fall a part! Wouldn't that please the people.
 
For millions of our citizens, transportation is a vital issue. This is a fundamental freedom,” said Sarkozy.
 
Even several unions believe that a week of destructive protests have gone too far. The largest union among refinery, port, gas and power workers, the C.G.T. which was formally aligned with the Communist Party, communicated with their demonstrators to remain calm. The C.G.T. is considered to be the most radical French union. Now that's a statement!
 
The white-collar union, the C.F.E. - C.G.C, announced that Tuesday would be the last day of demonstrations with the vote expected to occur sometime the following week. Union president Bernard Van Craeynest said that, “it will be necessary without doubt to pause to reorient the actions of the unions”. I do think a different course of action than violence and hurting the economy is needed.
 
Prime Minister François Fillon told the National Assembly that protests occurred with pension changes in 1993, 2003, and 2007 and stopped as the law became accepted by the majority.
 
Social confrontation is part of our democracy, but social consensus is as well,” said Fillon.

In my opinion, democracy is a representative government serving for the public welfare. I think President Sarkozy is looking out for his people rather letting the country go bankrupt.

Reach reporter Evelina Weary here.



 

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