Despite three months of protests and opposition from unions, French President Emmanuel Macron signed his controversial pension reform into law on Saturday.
The legislation, which includes raising the retirement age from 62 to 64, was approved by the Constitutional Council on Friday.
Unions have called for mass Labour Day protests on May 1, and violent demonstrations erupted in several cities overnight after the verdict was announced.
Macron’s decision to push the law through parliament without a vote has caused outrage among voters, with polls consistently showing that two out of three French people are against working an additional two years.
However, Macron has defended the change as necessary to avoid annual pension deficits.
The president’s approval ratings are near their lowest levels ever, and it remains to be seen if the months-long effort by trade unions to block the changes will continue.
Article updated 2 months ago. Content is written and modified by multiple authors.
