The public retirement age in France was lowered from 65 to 60 in 1982 under long-serving President François Mitterrand (Socialist Party), who came to power with the support of the Communist Party.
Since then, there have been repeated attempts to change the law – attempts that the French have fiercely opposed.
In 1995, when the capitalist Jacques Chirac succeeded Mitterrand as president, efforts were made to introduce a universal pension system and raise the retirement age in the public sector. Millions of French people took to the streets for three weeks in what has been described as the most widespread protests in France since the 1968 May Revolution. Pension schemes withdrawn.
In 2010, President Nicolas Sarkozy wanted to raise the retirement age to 62. It was then that the central bodies of the trade unions finally declared a general strike. Lakhs of people came to the streets and protested. Although the government agreed to minor concessions, the retirement age was raised.
In late 2019 and early 2020, major strikes were called in the country against President Emmanuel Macron’s plans for a major overhaul of the pension system. The strikes were the longest since 1968 and were supported by the majority of French. Eventually, due to the Covid pandemic, the plans were put on hold – until now.
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