
French President Emmanuel Macron waits for the arrival of European leaders for a meeting on Ukraine and European security at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, February 17, 2025. — Reuters
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PARIS: President Emmanuel Macron called on strikes and streets protests in 2023 to increase France’s retirement age two years to 64, saying it was the only way to maintain a ferocious but expensive pension system.
Now, a diagnosis of pension deficit through the country’s independent public audit office can revive the debate about the size of a pension deficit, and can cause a Macron’s critical, debt -laden government in crisis.
Macron’s latest prime minister, Francois Bero, requested the final decision of the audit office on this shortage – which is estimated at 6 billion to 45 billion euros when it restores pensions in exchange for support of socialist legislators Offered for restoration.
Unions and opposition parties from left and right want to end Macron’s signature reforms.
As part of his offer, a long -time loan hawk, Bero asked employers and unions to create a “conference” to design more acceptable reforms.
He was estimated by the Independent Pension Advisory Council of 6 billion euros ($ 6.3 billion), with his own ideology about the loss of pensions.
The actual difference between workers and employers ‘contributions and payments was 45 billion euros annually, which ignores taxpayers’ financing subsidies that are used to reduce the deficit.
If the Public Audit Office on Thursday agrees with a huge decline of the Bayero, it may damage the left argument that France can afford to change the retirement age increase and possibly investors It can be assured that the state may be worried about France’s rectangle public finance.
Many economists consider an essential step to increase the country’s public financial affairs to rapidly adapt to the old population.
However, if the Auditor decides to be in accordance with the advisory of the Advisory Council, it will potentially emphasize the reduction of retirement age, which will present the discussion of pensions to French politics.
Jane Daniel Levy, who belongs to the Polish Harris Interactive, said the pension case could put France into chaos.
France’s largest union, moderate CFDT, has already said that if they are on the basis of a shortage, they will abandon the dialogue.
“If this is a fake offer of financial affairs of the system, we will not be there,” CFDT chief Marylis Leone told France Information Radio earlier this month.
Meanwhile, employers’ federations are cautious about changes that will pay a higher price in the pension vessel.
Is the highest stake
There is more stake for the border, which has already survived the five distrustful movements. After failing to approve the legislation, they had to make billions of euros in privileges to approve the 2025 budget.
Investors, ranking agencies and European Union partners – who have been smart after the French budget deficit over the past two years – pension system financial affairs may be weakened.
“Given social, financially and politically obstacles, it will prove to be a very complicated debate,” Moody’s senior credit officer Olivier Chamla told Reuters.
He added, “Any changes to deteriorate or reduce financial stability will be negative.”
Bero has said that when all options were on the table to tweet the improvement in 2023, no modification should leave the pension system in the worst financial form.
Changes to the pension system are extremely sensitive as many people are deeply associated with the principle that the payment of payments for the workers’ funds for retirees.
In fact, the contribution of salaries of workers and employers is only part of pension payments.
“This system is two -thirds based on the insurance model and one -third of subsidizing the state. We can accept it, but that means that our (2023) retirement reforms were insufficient,” “the legislature and the finance minister. Former Finance Minister Anton Armand demanded a role for private pension funds in financing.
Some French pensioners suspected that there would be a lot to talk about to re -work.
“Company owners do not want to pay more than one percent and are not prime ministers who will look for small people,” said Renny Barbilin, a 72 -year -old retired bank employee and union worker. “They used to say that when you want to end a debate, you make a commission.” News News Desk