France's Constitutional Council mulling passing pension reform

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
22 Mar 2023 18:08

Macron told French broadcaster France 2 that the government should have the right to intervene in stopping the strikes as their effects on the economy have had a toll on the lives of French people.

Entrance to France's Constitutional Council (AFP)

President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday that France's Constitutional Council is presently considering whether or not to bring the pension reform into force.

"[The reform] is under consideration by the Constitutional Council, and its entry into force will depend on its decision," Macron told the France 2 and TF1 broadcasters.

He added that he was very dissatisfied carrying out the reform and that authorities could have done a better job at explaining to the public the necessity of the reform.

He further said that the government should have the right to intervene in stopping the strikes as their effects on the economy have had a toll on the lives of French people.

"When groups use extreme violence to attack those elected by the republic … when they use violence without any rules because they are unhappy with something, it is no longer a republic … There is a blockade [of the economy] and one must have the right to remove this blockade," Macron told France 2.

Since the bill on pension reform has been announced in late January, trains, schools, public services, and ports have been affected by strikes.

Millions of people have been taking part in the protests, with demonstrators clashing with police, with videos widely circulating online showing rioters throwing bottles of glass and firecrackers at law enforcers.

City cleaners have been on strike for several days, causing the streets of Paris to mount with tonnes of trash in some of its most scenic pales.

On March 18, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne announced that the law extending the retirement age in France from 62 to 64 years old was adopted by the government using Article 49.3 of the constitution - an article that allows the government to pass a law without a vote in parliament.

At the time when the law was adopted, the eighth nationwide demonstration against the reform was already on.

Yesterday, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that over 850 protesters have been arrested so far since last Thursday.

He said that the upcoming nationwide demonstration will take place in France on March 23, to which 12,000 police officers will be deployed, with 5,000 in Paris alone.

Darmanin added that over 300 police officers have sustained injuries as a result of the clashes over the past two months.