The head of state has been criticized for pushing through the pension reform without going through parliament.
(Photo: IMAGO/VCG)
Paris The fate of French President Emmanuel Macron’s controversial pension reform lies in the hands of the Constitutional Council: the nine men and women want to announce their eagerly awaited decision on the legality of the law on Friday, which, among other things, provides for raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 years . Three scenarios are possible: The nine “wise men” can approve the reform, demand changes or overturn the law altogether.
However, the latter variant is considered very unlikely. Macron is counting on the fact that the most important domestic policy project of his second term of office will survive the examination by the constitutional authorities largely unscathed. His government also sees signs that protests against the reform are gradually abating.
On Thursday, the unions organized what is now the twelfth national day of protest. The French Ministry of the Interior only assumed 400,000 to 600,000 demonstrators. At the height of the protest movement, more than a million people took to the streets across the country.
Participation in the strikes is also declining noticeably. According to the French Ministry of Education, just under five percent of teachers stopped working on Thursday. The train traffic was largely normal, according to the railway company SNCF, three out of four long-distance trains should run as planned.
However, the trade unions want to continue fighting the pension reform – regardless of the decision of the Constitutional Council. “The mobilization will continue one way or another,” said the head of the CGT union, Sophie Binet. “We cannot start a new chapter until the reform is withdrawn.”
Constitutional Council could allow a citizens’ initiative
The decision of the Constitutional Council is expected late Friday afternoon – but Macron’s opponents cannot have high hopes. The nine members of the Council are appointed by the President and the Chairmen of the National Assembly and Senate, the upper house of Parliament.
The influx of the demonstrations dwindles.
(Photo: Bloomberg)
Since the founding of France’s Fifth Republic in 1958, the body has overturned only 17 laws outright, and none of them addressed issues as important as pension reform. Declaring the pension law completely unconstitutional would certify that the government “has acted outside the legal framework since the beginning of the legislative process,” said political scientist Bruno Cautrès. “It’s hard to imagine.”
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It is conceivable that the Constitutional Council will in principle allow a citizens’ initiative against the reform by the left-wing opposition parties. However, that would only be the beginning of a long road to a possible referendum – which, even if the majority were against the reform, would not necessarily lead to a repeal of the pension law.
Le Pen benefits from the pension dispute
In any case, it is not the left-wing alliance of Indomitable France, Greens and Socialists, which is close to the unions, that is benefiting from the pension dispute, but Marine Le Pen’s right-wing Rassemblement National party. Le Pen currently appears in polls as the most promising candidate for Macron’s successor, should she stand in the next presidential elections in 2027.
Macron said on Wednesday evening during a state visit to the Netherlands that the Constitutional Council’s decision will complete the “democratic course” of pension reform. However, the president has been criticized because, given the lack of a majority for his center alliance in the National Assembly, he pushed through the controversial law with special government powers bypassing parliament.
However, Macron does not believe that the dispute over the reform will suddenly be history at the weekend. “The debates in society will certainly continue,” he said. The President offered the unions a dialogue for the period after the decision of the Constitutional Council: “The country must continue to move forward, work and face the challenges that await us.”
More: How France benefits from Macron’s reforms – and overtakes Germany