Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Two were martyred in an initial toll of the Israeli drone strike that targeted the al-Asira neighborhood in the city of Baalbek, eastern Lebanon
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: An Israeli drone strike targeted the al-Asira neighborhood east of Baalbek, eastern Lebanon
Sheikh Naim Qassem to the pager attack survivors: You are the greatest resistance. Know that 'Israel' will fall because it embodies aggression, crime, and occupation; victory is truly yours
Sheikh Qassem to the pager attack survivors: The value of what you are doing despite your wounds is immense, and here you are, treading the path of the Master of Nation's Martyrs and the leaders
Sheikh Qassem to the pager attack survivors: You are moving forward with insight deeper than sight itself. The enemy sought to eliminate your role in the battle, yet you remain steadfast and continue the fight
Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem to the pager attack survivors one year later: You are healing from your wounds and rising above them. You have successfully passed the test
Palestinian media: Reports of stabbing operation in occupied al-Quds.
Israeli media: Sirens blare in Arava in South, near Ramon Airport.
Egyptian PM Mostafa Madbouli: Egypt is targeted in plans to redraw regional map
AEOI Chief Mohammad Eslami: Our presence in IAEA General Council and fact-checking helped in preventing unilateral rhetoric that aims to portray Iran as an unregulated country

France's Macron contends protested pensions reform

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 21 Feb 2023 13:01
2 Min Read

All the mass demonstrations Paris is witnessing against the pensions reform fall on deaf ears.

  • x
  • Protests in Toulouse against the overhaul of French Labour laws. (AFP)
    Protests in Toulouse against the overhaul of French Labour laws (AFP)

In rare comments on the subject, French President Emmanuel Macron defended his government's contentious pension reform on Tuesday.

"Everybody has common sense," he told journalists as he toured the fresh meat section of the massive Rungis wholesale food market south of Paris.

"On the whole, people know that everybody has to work a little longer on average, otherwise we won't be able to properly fund our pensions," he said.

"If we don't create wealth, we cannot then distribute it," he added.

Hundreds of thousands of people have gone on strike or taken to the streets to protest the proposed changes on five consecutive occasions in recent weeks.

Related News

France's constitutional court greenlights Macron's pension plan

About 16% of France's gas pumps hit by fuel shortage

These include raising the retirement age from 62 to 64, as well as increasing the number of years of payments required to obtain a full pension.

The government has claimed that adjustments are required to get France's pension system out of the deficit by 2030.

But Macron, who made the revamp a centerpiece of his re-election campaign last year, has mainly been silent on the subject.

A tumultuous debate in parliament over the draft measure ended on Friday without even getting to the contentious Article 7 on raising the retirement age.

The proposal will now be considered by the Senate.

Between 1.27 - 2.8 million French protesters marched against Macron's reform plan around the country in one of the largest demonstrations in late January.

Despite polls consistently showing growing opposition to the reform and Macron's own popularity dwindling, the French President insisted on keeping a key campaign pledge he made when he swept to power in 2017 and before his reelection in April 2022.

  • pensions reform
  • protests in france
  • France
  • Macron

Most Read

Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza.

Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza

  • Politics
  • 12 Sep 2025
A screengrab from the ad played on Fox News. (X Screengrab)

Fox airs ad warning Trump not to let Netanyahu 'play' him on Gaza

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025
Lapid: Egypt’s Arab Force plan a 'severe blow' to normalization

Lapid: Egypt’s Arab Force plan a 'severe blow' to normalization

  • Palestine
  • 14 Sep 2025
Why is Choose Love using a firm with British and US intelligence connections to run a pro-Palestine musical event? (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

Together for Palestine: Troubling questions about the organisers of this huge event

  • Opinion
  • 17 Sep 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
A Hezbollah supporter who lost his sight in a pager attack carried out by "Israel" on Sept. 17, 2024, covers his eyes with a red headband inscribed with the name "Hussein" during Ashoura, July 6, 2025 (AP)
Politics

'We Have Recovered': Lebanon marks 1st anniversary of Pager Attack

The Arab neighborhood of El Za'im, on the outskirts of east Occupied Al-Quds in the West Bank, near where Israeli government says housing units will be built as part of the E1 settlement project, Thursday, August 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Palestine

'Israel’s' deliberate policies drive West Bank economy toward collapse

Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Politics

Ben & Jerry’s co-founder resigns over parent company curbing activism

Trump’s approval rating falls to new low in second term: Poll
US & Canada

Trump’s approval rating falls to new low in second term: Poll

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS