French President Macron Signs Pension Reform Bill Despite Widespread Protests

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French President Emmanuel Macron signed the pension reform bill on the 15th (local time), despite intense social resistance, according to major media reports.

According to reports, with President Macron's signature, the legislative process for reforming France's pension system has been completed. The reform bill was published in the French Official Journal that morning and came into effect. Prior to this, the French Constitutional Council (equivalent to South Korea's Constitutional Court) had approved the core content of the reform the day before, which raises the retirement age for starting pension benefits from 62 to 64.

The labor unions leading the fierce social opposition to this pension reform had demanded President Macron not to sign the bill following the Constitutional Council's decision. The hard-left labor union, Conf?d?ration G?n?rale du Travail (CGT), warned that it would hold large-scale protests on May 1, Labor Day.

In France, there has been strong backlash against the government's plan to extend the retirement age by two years. Nationwide protests have been held 12 times, and sectors such as transportation, energy, and schools have been severely affected by union strikes. With the possibility of the pension reform bill being rejected in the National Assembly, where the opposition holds a majority, President Macron last month utilized a constitutional provision allowing him to bypass the voting process in urgent situations and passed the bill without a vote.

President Macron argues that the annual pension deficit will reach 13.5 billion euros (approximately 19.4 trillion won) by 2030, and that pension system reform is necessary to prevent this.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.