French Labor Minister defends raising the retirement age to “balance the system”

The French Labor Minister, Olivier Dussopt, defended this Monday the increase in the minimum retirement age to 64 years by 2030 as a necessary measure to achieve “balance the system”.

“The measures that we are taking are those that allow the system to be balanced in 2030”, a Dussopt has defended before the media, who has also branded the pension reform announced by the Government as “fundamental”.

For Dussopt, giving up on raising the minimum retirement age would be reversing attempts to rebalance the system and also giving up guarantee pensions for future generationsaccording to the newspaper ‘Le Figaro’.

In this sense, the Minister of Labor has recognized that the increase in the retirement age is one of the aspects in which there is “disagreement” with the unionsalthough it has warned that it is “absolutely fundamental” and immovable.

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne announced at the beginning of the year a long-awaited pension reform which raises the retirement age to 64 by 2030 and increases the minimum pension for all beneficiaries by 100 euros per month compared to the current benefit.

Tailored reviews

The measure has raised criticism from the opposition and part of the population, which over the past week has celebrated various manifestations through the streets of the country’s main cities to protest against said pension reform.

In response to the mobilizations, the French government has issued a warning to the organizers of the protests, at a time when some are calling for tougher actions, particularly with power outages.

“Not everything is acceptable”has stressed in this regard the Minister of Labor.