Hundreds of thousands demonstrate against pension reform in France The largest nuclear submarine in the world is being demolished

According to authorities, some 750,000 people across France are protesting against the government’s pension schemes during strikes and mass protests. According to figures from the Interior Ministry, fewer people protested on Tuesday than last week. There are currently winter holidays in some French regions. The CGT union, on the other hand, spoke of nearly two million demonstrators across the country.

Pension reform is considered one of the most important projects of President Emmanuel Macron. The unions find the project unfair and ruthless. The government wants to gradually increase the retirement age from 62 to 64 years. In addition, the number of payment years required for a full pension must increase more rapidly.

The retirement age is currently 62 years. In fact, retirement starts later on average: those who have not paid in long enough to be entitled to a full pension continue to work longer. At age 67, there will then be a pension with no deductions, regardless of how long it has been paid in – the government wants to keep this. She wants to increase the monthly minimum pension to around 1,200 euros. (sda/dpa)