Age of Protest

France, a country known for its revolts, seems to be on the brink of another one now. This is due to President Emmanuel Macron invoking a special power of the president to pass a law to raise pensions through legislation. As a result, now French citizens will have to wait until the age of 64 to receive a pension which increased from 62 to 64 years old. 

This all began back in January of this year when the French government proposed the idea of overhauling the pension system in France. This led to great unrest among the people, which boiled over when President Macron used his ability to pass a law without a vote. However, the French National Assembly did attempt to have a no-confidence vote to prevent this but was rejected by only 9 points. This all leads to the city of Paris experiencing verbal and physical protests and strikes. But why is Macron so unpopular?

Macron has already been an unpopular president in his tenure since 2017. Emmanuel initially ran with the idea of a promise of prosperity (wealth) for the people of France. However, even as early as 2018, he seemed to have lied about this statement. The rightfully named “president of the rich” loosened labor laws in France along with ending a wealth tax that had been adopted just 2 years prior. The reason Macron had chosen to do away with the tax is because it made France “Cuba without the sun.” Later on in 2018, the “yellow vests” protests began due to demands for change over policies aimed to help the wealthy. All these factors about Macron’s past cook up a perfect storm for his political undoing. As to the justification of his invoking right (Article 49.3), Macron described it as something necessary but something he didn’t want to do. However, despite the large detested of his new pension regulations, Emmanuel has stayed largely silent, focusing more on international affairs with China, Russia, etc. And with his back turned on the protests at home, the people are left to boil over. 

Macron’s government has attempted to try and suppress these protests, but instead only caught the attention of human rights organizations like Amnesty International and the Council of Europe. The organization’s primary concern is with France’s restrictions on the protesters being allowed to assemble, as cities like Dunkirk, Marseille, Nantes, and Brest have forbidden simple gatherings. This hasn’t seemed to slow down the protests, as CNN reported that the number of supporters for the protesters has grown by 11%. But what comes next for France?

The riots still go on throughout the streets of France, and although the violence actively in the streets has dwindled, the support for this protest continues to grow. However, the percentage still in support of this pension increase may be an ominous sign for the future of French citizens.