Pension reform in France: Elisabeth Borne makes a first concession on long careers

Elisabeth Borne during a press conference for the presentation of the pension reform, January 10, 2023. REUTERS - POOL

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French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne announced to the Journal du Dimanche (JDD) that people who started working between the ages of 20 and 21 will be able to retire at 63, not 64, thus responding favorably to the request of LR deputies .

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On the highly contested pension reform, “␣

we are going to move by extending this long career scheme to those who have started working between 20 and 21 years old. They will thus be able to leave at 63 years old

␣”, the head of government

declared

.

at the request of right-wing elected officials, she added, before the Monday kick-off of the debates before the National Assembly.¶

►␣To␣read·

also␣

:␣The·government·right·in·its·boots·on·pension·reform

The voices of the Republicans are essential to pass this reform. They have raised the stakes and have been pleading for several days to prevent “␣

those who started working the earliest (must) contribute the longest

␣”, according to party president Éric Ciotti. A green light for their proposal on long careers “␣

will allow us to win a very large majority in the LR group

␣”, a- he

assures the

Parisian.¶

“␣

It is a measure which will cost between 600 million and one billion euros per year, and which will concern up to

30,000

people per year

␣”, emphasizes Élisabeth Borne. And “␣

as we are carrying out this reform to ensure the balance of the system by we

will have to find ways of financing

␣”.¶

A suitable device

Currently, a career start before 20 years old can allow an early departure of two years, and an entry into working life before 16 years old can give the right to an early retirement of four years. The reform project provides that this system will be “␣

adapted

”: those who started before 20 years old can leave two years earlier, i.e. 62 years old; those who started before 18 years old can leave at age 60, etc.¶

At another request from the LRs, also made by the MoDem group, the Prime Minister has “␣

no objection

␣”: he it would be a question of making “␣

a mid-term review of the reform

␣”, in 2027. That year, “␣

there has a presidential election and legislative elections

␣”, which “␣

is already a form of review clause

␣”, she notes .¶

While two new days of mobilization are planned for February 7 and 11, Ms. Borne says she understands that the reform is pushing back the age of starting legal from 62 to 64 “␣

arouses reactions,

reluctance

and concerns

”. “␣

But our objective is to ensure the future of our

pay-as-you-go pension system ”, she insists, saying “␣

regret(s) that some, in particular left, maintain misunderstandings

␣”.¶

►Also read:␣Pension reform in France: Élisabeth Borne makes no concessions

(With AFP)

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