France rejects referendum to lower retirement age to 62

In France, the Constitutional Council rejected the parliamentarians’ request to hold a “referendum to lower the retirement age to 62.” The Constitutional Council, chaired by former French Prime Minister Laurent Fabius and consisting of a total of 9 members, discussed the request for a referendum to lower the retirement age. The Council announced that the parliamentarians’ request for a referendum was rejected on the grounds that it did not constitute a “reform” according to Article 11 of the constitution. According to Article 11 of the constitution, the president and a certain number of parliamentarians can submit reform proposals regarding France’s economic or social policy. 253 parliamentarians who oppose the pension reform applied to the Constitutional Council on April 13 to hold a referendum to lower the retirement age to 62. Meanwhile, unions will organize their 14th mass demonstration against the pension reform on June 6. The National Assembly will discuss the bill to repeal the pension reform on June 8. Pension reform Mass demonstrations began in France on March 16 after the government decided to pass a bill raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 without a vote. While the police cracked down on the protesters, there were violent incidents in many parts of the country. More than 1,000 people have been arrested in protests held across the country since March 16. The Constitutional Council, which the opposition and the government applied to determine whether the reform was constitutional, approved the article of the bill raising the retirement age to 64 and rejected 6 articles in whole or in part. The bill was signed by French President Emmanuel Macron and published in the Official Gazette.