The French Senate has approved a reform raising the retirement age, reports Reuters. Thousands of people across the country protested against it for a week.
According to the reform, the retirement age in France will be raised by two years, to 64 years. 195 deputies of the upper house of the French parliament voted for it, 112 voted against. French Prime Minister Elisabeth Born said she was "fully committed to having the text of the reform finally adopted in the coming days." After the Senate, the reform should be considered by a joint committee of legislators of the lower and upper houses of parliament. This will probably happen on Wednesday, March 15th. Mass protests and strikes are again scheduled for this day.
If the committee agrees to raising the retirement age, a final vote in both houses could be scheduled for the next day. However, as Reuters highlights, the outcome of the vote still seems uncertain in the lower house, the National Assembly of France, where Emmanuel Macron needs allied votes. Pension reform is one of the main points in his program. He already tried to hold it in 2019, but the French authorities abandoned this idea. However, the government will be able to influence the situation and dispense with the parliamentary vote thanks to Article 49.3. It allows him to force the bill to pass without a vote unless Parliament votes for a vote of no confidence.
