The former Prime Minister persists and signs on this burning issue.

Edouard Philippe called on the executive on Saturday to “move a lot” on pensions, again pleading for a postponement of the retirement age, to 65 or even 67, in an interview with

Le Parisien

.

“I have always said that I considered that it was necessary to move on pensions, to move a lot”, he declared, recalling having spoken last year “of a postponement of the legal age to 65, 66 or 67 years old.

“My goal is not to plead for the harshest solution in order to piss off the world”, assures the boss of the Horizons party, which forms the right wing of the majority.

“All the countries of the European Union are faced with the same aging of their populations as we are.

Whether they are Liberals, Christian Democrats, Social Democrats, they have all chosen the solution of postponing the retirement age”, he underlines again, citing the examples of Germany and Italy. who “chose 67 years old”.

"I don't know by what miracle of the mind we could be in a situation radically different from that of our neighbors", further argues the former resident of Matignon, who had himself tried to lead a pension reform, before that it is not interrupted by the Covid-19.

Towards a gradual shift in the retirement age to 65

Following a promise from his re-election campaign, Emmanuel Macron affirmed his intention to quickly carry out a pension reform, for application from the summer of 2023, with a gradual shift in the retirement age to 65.

“If we are 65 years old and it works, that suits me very well”, assures Edouard Philippe.

"And if we leave later, we must improve the system by introducing more justice, and of course taking into account long careers," he continues.

According to Edouard Philippe, expressing his concern about “a significant deficit and rising public spending”, a pension reform is one of the avenues that should make it possible to limit France's indebtedness.



In this perspective, the former Prime Minister observes that the executive has set “a return to 3% (of GDP) of deficit around 2027”.

“We are the only country to set this course.

The others have a 2025 target,” he notes.

"We are always spending more without our fellow citizens having the feeling that things are going much better", further supports Edouard Philippe, calling in particular for a review of the housing policy which, according to him, has "become largely ineffective and therefore far too expensive for what we get.

»

Objective: Horizons 2027?

Asked about migration policy, the former Prime Minister believes that establishing “quotas by professions” seems to him “perfectly possible”.

“We need skills, to bring in people.

Even with an unemployment rate of 7%, it is difficult to recruit in certain areas, ”he argues.

Given among the contenders for the presidential election of 2027, Edouard Philippe protests against "the kind of collective madness" which consists in being "totally in the moment, personalization".

"Me, I never skip the steps", he retorts, while acknowledging that "preparing is never useless".

“I understood that in 2024, Renaissance would choose how to determine its candidate.

When the time comes, Horizons too, and I think that with us, there will be no primary, ”he slips.

Regarding Horizons, which will hold a congress “in the first quarter of 2023”, Edouard Philippe claims to bring together “almost 20,000 paying members” one year after its creation, “more than 380 mayors” and “more than 500 municipal committees”.

Policy

Pension reform: "Let's decide quickly", launches Edouard Philippe

Policy

At a distance but not too much… Edouard Philippe, or how to “stay in the game” until 2027

  • Pension reform

  • Retirement

  • Edward Philip

  • Company

  • Emmanuel Macron