World Tour: Macron signs pension bill into law after months of protests

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It:

World Tour with our correspondent in Europe, Jenny Lind Schmitt.

JENNY LIND SCHMITT, REPORTER: France pension ruling — We start off today’s international roundup here in Europe.

SOUND: [Protesters singing]

French President Emmanuel Macron has signed into law a pension bill after months of protests.

The legislation came just hours after the French Constitutional Council voted in favor of key parts of the bill on Friday.

The measure raises the retirement age for public employees from 62 to 64. Macron said the change would help keep France’s pension system viable. The nine-member council rejected the opposition’s request for a referendum on the decision.

SOUND: [Clashing protesters]

The proposed changes sent crowds of protesters out to the streets for months…with some demonstrations turning violent. Labor unions organized strikes.

Garbage filled the streets of Paris last month as the city’s garbage workers stopped work in protest.

Railway unions are calling for a day of “railway anger” on Thursday. Other trade unions are also planning mass Labour Day protests on May 1 to coincide with International Workers’ Day.

Sudan unrest — Next, to Sudan, where deadly fighting has persisted in the capital city of Khartoum.

SOUND: [Gunfire]

The Sudanese military forces and a powerful paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces are battling for control. The two generals on the warring sides are former allies who orchestrated a coup in 20-21.

About 100 people have died and hundreds more injured as gun battles, shelling, and airstrikes continue. Both sides are claiming control of key parts of Khartoum. Fighting also hit other cities.

Two Sudanese governments have already been toppled in the past four years.

Sudan’s former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok says violence is only a setback on the return to democracy.

ABDALLA HAMDOK: Transitions never go in a straight line. I'm absolutely confident that we will be able to open the road again for this transition to take it to its prospective and desired destination by the majority of the Sudanese people.

A regional African group has said it will send the presidents of South Sudan, Djibouti, and Kenya to Khartoum to mediate the conflict. But the country’s international airport remains closed.

Meanwhile the Sudanese doctors’ union warned residents who are trapped at home are starting to face water, food, and electricity shortages.

Yemen prisoner swap — We head over to Yemen.

SOUND: [Welcome ceremony]

Rebels and a Saudi-led military coalition have wrapped up a prisoner swap that saw nearly 900 people gain freedom. The three-day operation that ended Sunday marks Yemen’s largest prisoner exchange in three years.

Yemen’s war began in 20-14 when Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized control of the capital city of Sanaa and much of northern Yemen. A Saudi-led coalition stepped in several months later to try to restore the internationally recognized government. The ongoing conflict has sparked one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

The released prisoners include more than 700 Houthis, senior military officials, and four Yemeni journalists sentenced to death in a Houthi-controlled court.

SOUND: [Speaking Arabic]

The brother of one detained journalist explains he missed eight years with his children who are now 10 and 13 years old.

The deal came after the warring sides said they made progress in talks towards a ceasefire and ending the conflict. On Monday, the coalition released more than 100 additional prisoners in a unilateral move.

Chile work schedule — We close today in Chile.

SOUND: [Applause]

Chile’s President Gabriel Boric has signed a bill reducing the country’s work week from 45 to 40 hours.

The new law will phase-in over five years, with the work hours dropping by one hour each year until it gets to 40.

The legislation prevents employers from cutting salaries over the change. It also allows workers to switch to a four-day work week.

Authorities say about 500 companies have already implemented the change.

SOUND: [Speaking Spanish]

President Boric says here the reduced work time will bring a better quality of life for children and workers in the country.

Chile now joins Ecuador and Venezuela to hold Latin America’s shortest work weeks. Argentina, Mexico, Peru, and Panama still have 48-hour work week schedules.

And that’s it for this week’s World Tour. Reporting for WORLD, I’m Jenny Lind Schmitt in Porrentruy, Switzerland.

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