Raised retirement age in France prompts call for strikes

Unions representing French oil workers on Thursday called for walkouts on Jan. 19, 26, and Feb. 6 to protest French President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform. Union officials said the strikes could include shutting down refineries if necessary. The French government is planning to raise the age at which a French citizen can gain full retirement benefits from 62 to 64. The government is trying to tackle a pension funding deficit, said French Prime Minister Élizabeth Borne. 

What is the retirement age in other EU countries? Most countries in the European Union give full retirement benefits at age 65. Some other countries, including the United States, are moving the retirement age closer to 67. The French government last tried to change the pension system in 2019, but French citizens protested and held nationwide strikes. The plan was eventually abandoned once the COVID-19 pandemic began. 

Dig deeper: Listen to Myrna Brown’s report on The World and Everything in It podcast about the future of Social Security in America.