French President Emmanuel Macron is facing nationwide protests on Labour Day as he struggles to move past the deeply unpopular increase in the retirement age.
The decision to lift the retirement age by two years to 64 has sparked a wave of social unrest and caused Macron’s popularity to plummet to near record lows.
Unions are hoping for over 1 million people to march through towns and cities on Monday to show their opposition to the pension reform.
Macron argues that the reform is necessary to keep France’s generous pension system sustainable, but trade unions argue that the money can be found elsewhere.
The political opposition to Macron’s reform agenda is hardening, which could complicate his plans for an employment bill that would require those receiving minimum welfare benefits to work or get training for 15-20 hours per week.
Fitch has already cut France’s sovereign credit rating, citing potential political deadlock and social unrest as risks to Macron’s agenda.
Article updated 2 months ago. Content is written and modified by multiple authors.
