President Emmanuel Macron plans Tuesday to defy threats of mass protests in launching yet another bid to reform France\u2019s debt-ridden pension system by forcing the French to work longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2019, his attempt to replace dozens of separate regimes with a single points-based system and to push back the age for a full pension from 62 to 64 sparked the longest transport strike in decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
AFP looks back at the 30-year battle by various French governments of the left and right to keep one of Europe\u2019s most generous pension systems afloat in the face of an ageing population:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1993: FIRST REFORM<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1993, the centre-right government of prime minister Edouard Balladur increases the number of years of work necessary for a full private sector pension from 37.5 to 40.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Balladur\u2019s government also changes the way pensions are calculated, basing them on the worker\u2019s 25 best-paid years instead of 10 previously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is little resistance to the plan, which skirts the more sensitive issue of public sector pensions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1995: WORKERS\u2019 REVOLT<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In November 1995, France grinds to a halt over centre-right prime minister Alain Juppe\u2019s attempts to reform public sector pensions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trade unions call a general strike over the changes, crippling train and metro services for three weeks. The public sides massively with the strikers, forcing the government into a climbdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2003: MASS PROTESTS<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eight years later, more than a million people take to the streets when centre-right prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin unveils plans to make state employees work for 40 years for a full pension, like in the private sector, and to shift everyone progressively to 42 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Raffarin refuses to back down. After weeks of demonstrations and strikes the bill passes parliament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2007: SARKOZY DOES DEAL<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Right-wing president Nicolas Sarkozy also takes on public sector unions when he comes to power, vowing to scrap the more advantageous pension schemes enjoyed by public service workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Train drivers go on strike but eventually agree to work the same number of years as everyone else after winning a range of concessions on how their pensions are calculated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2010: FROM 60 TO 62 YEARS<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sarkozy runs into much greater opposition three years later when he moves to raise the legal retirement age from 60 to 62.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
France\u2019s oil refineries are blockaded during two months of rolling strikes and protests but the resistance peters out after parliament adopts the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2014: 43 YEARS OF CONTRIBUTIONS<\/p>\n\n\n\n
France\u2019s Socialists also tackle the pensions deficit after president Francois Hollande comes to power, gradually increasing the number of years of contributions required for a full pension to 43.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Source: The South African <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Emmanuel Macron plans Tuesday to defy threats of mass protests in launching yet another bid to reform France\u2019s debt-ridden pension system by forcing the French to work longer. In 2019, his attempt to replace dozens of separate regimes with a single points-based system and to push back the age for a full pension from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7734,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n