French Constitutional Council validates pension reform despite popular rejection

Havana, April 14 (RHC) - The French Constitutional Council validated this Friday most of the unpopular pension reform promoted by the Government of Emmanuel Macron -including the increase in the retirement age from 62 to 64 years-, which has generated waves of protests across the country in recent months.

The nine members of the Council validated the essence of the regulation while rejecting some measures of the project, such as the creation of an index of older people. Similarly, the instance objected to the request for a Shared Initiative Referendum (RIP), proposed by left-wing organizations to give the people the right and option to pronounce on the regulations. However, a second application was subsequently submitted that will be validated or not on May 3.

The reactions of citizens and organizations opposed to the reform did not wait. In Paris, thousands of protesters tried to approach the headquarters of the Constitutional Council, but had to withdraw when they verified the presence of a strong security device, including riot barriers.

Since Thursday night, the authorities have prohibited protests in the vicinity of the Council headquarters. It is reported that a part of the demonstrators concentrated on the esplanade of the City Hall and others headed towards the Plaza de la Bastille.

According to local media, there are also demonstrations in Nantes and Lyon. In a statement, parliamentarians from the Socialist Party asked President Macron not to promulgate the reform and warned that, if it occurs, they will present a bill to repeal it.

During an interview with a television station, the general secretary of the French Democratic Confederation of Labor (CFDT), Laurent Berger, insisted that the law should not be enacted if the government wants to leave the current crisis behind and stressed that it will not accept the invitation of Macron to dialogue on April 18.

For its part, the board of the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) stated that it will not attend the meeting with the president at the Elysee and that the inter-union platform that organizes the mobilizations will not accept a meeting with him before the 1st of May. They added that it will meet on April 17 to define future actions. (Source: Telesur)