Why Are the French Striking Again?

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The French government has recently proposed raising the minimum retirement age, which sparked nationwide protests, strikes and a united front from France's main trade bodies against the government's proposals. As the government has triggered Article 49.3 of the French constitution to force the bill through without a vote, causing a furious reaction from the public and the opposition parties, could this potentially throw Macron's future presidency into disarray?
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1 - www.publicsenat.fr/article/de...
2 - www.lejdd.fr/politique/sondag...
3 - www.nytimes.com/2023/03/16/wo...
4 - www.nytimes.com/2023/03/16/wo...
5 - ElectsWorld/statu...
6 - www.economist.com/europe/2023...
7 - www.bfmtv.com/politique/parle...

[@williamchamberlain2263]

It's springtime - the birds are singing, the flowers are sending up shoots, the French are striking - the great annual cycle of nature

[@toyotaprius79]

And likewise with the modern day, nature is being poisoned and killed off for decades just like organised labour and culturally demonising the thought of unionising in many western countries.

[@franekkkkk]

Respect to the French for striking. The worker class knows what to do and when. Not quite like other countries

[@MacTac141]

@@franekkkkk Issue is they strike and riot so often they’ve taken a lot of the meaning out of it. If you freak out about everything constantly, people don’t take you very seriously Seems more like a bunch of angry children who turn to violence and property damage every time they don’t get what they want, even if the change is for the better of the country as a whole

[@kennethadler7380]

​@@franekkkkk respect to the French for banckrupting their own pension system

[@SyBo27]

God dammit, you beat me by half an hour with this comment 😂

[@XEnzo68]

Something you missed at 5:32 : the opposition didn't sing the national anthem in order to make the prime minister unable to be heard (though it didn't hurt). They sung it because the national anthem is about a national revolutionary upsurge where citizens are summoned to take arms against any form of tyranny (written during the french revolution so you get the tone). This was more than just some noise over her declaration, it was a clear warning on what's coming to them.

[@thomate.]

You're missing something as well :) Although it isn't formally forbidden, it is traditionally considered disrespectful to speak over the national anthem. This strategy has already been used several times in the past

[@lubu2960]

they're not gonna do shit lmao

[@zap648]

​@@lubu2960 "...not gonna do shit" _glancing at nation-wide protests and strikes_

[@lubu2960]

@@zap648 they're not gonna accomplish anything, the law was passed.

[@qatm585]

​@@lubu2960Laws can be changed and Constitutional Court can be triggered

[@amarasa2567]

One thing to note: with this reform, the government used every controversial tool in the constitutional arsenal: reduced time to study the text and the amendments, frozen vote (only one vote on the whole of the text with chosen amendments by the government) in the Senate, and the 49.3, which means that the Assembly never had any chance to vote on the reform, which is completely unprecedented (excluding referendums, of course).

[@prsimoibn2710]

A form of Fascism, and that's what the french people are craving for. They need someone radical against left and right

[@Spiky_fofo]

Thanks for mentionning that! It was not said in the video, and its indeed a part of why French people are so angry right now

[@dymalash]

True, moreover there is an article, the article 2 that was rejected by the Assemblée but was still transmitted and voted by the Senate. So the only people we elected didn't take part at all in the democratic process... What a shame

[@parteuy3434]

WEF style 'democracy' at work. Nothing to see here, except a huge fire over the horizon. Go to sleep numbnuts

[@dymalash]

@Motez Reef Yes.

[@ArturoSubutex]

Just to make things a bit clearer: the effective retirement age for most people in France is already 64-65 since you have to work 42-43 years to retire. Only a few people who started working at a young age and never had any employment lapses are really affected by this measure. Which is perceived as unfair, since they typically work in low-income, physically demanding blue-collar jobs.

[@johncollins3391]

Well that message is not getting through.

[@cyrus7805]

@@johncollins3391 Yeah, many people outside of France are quite confused with the message, they think that everyone in France retires at 62. Which is absolutely not the case. The average is around 64/65. Some, like me, who studied for a long time (maybe too long) until the age of 25, will have to work until 68. The 64 is the minimum age. Basically what that means is that if you started working at 18 (or even 16 as it is allowed in France), you will have to work 46 years before being allowed to retire with a full pension. While, people like me will have to work 43 years (until I'm 68) to have a full pension. Hardly fair. And when you use the 49.3 for such an unfair law, you can't expect it not to spark some kind of reaction, especially not in France.

[@ArturoSubutex]

@@johncollins3391 It is, in France.

[@edouardesc]

​@@cyrus7805 alors non tu pourras t'arrêter à 67 car a 67 tu as obligatoirement la pension complète

[@capnacku8028]

Wrong, retire after the max age and above min contribution gets you a bonus pension, increasing the age means reducing or even erasing this. So this is unfair for them as well. Anyway, we're beyond this debate now.

[@UniqueUsernamesAreDumb]

For a country who makes fun of the French fairly frequently. I really wish we here in the UK had a fraction of the French's backbone when it comes to political protest. We've allowed a lot worse to go by in recent years. Kudos to you people of France!

[@tywonellington]

There’s just as much entitlement here as backbone. Ppl would see the country in financial ruin before allowing reform.

[@philippebrehier7386]

Yep. I'am not for total communism, because like absolut capitalism, it seems quite impossible to realise. BUT, when you have socialized budgets of military and police, but not socialized budgets of water, food, education, healthcare, etc. I can't help myself to think that it's kind of an autoritarian way to protect the wealthiest people from the majority that were not as lucky the day of their birth.

[@419prince]

Same here in Spain, we laugh at the French a lot, but even mass hunger or raising retirement age to 100 wouldn't be enough for Spaniards to take out to the streets

[@philippebrehier7386]

@@tywonellington Which reforms ? Neoliberal ones ? The way to be even more vulnerable to crisis like the 2008 one ? Nope. Solidarity is the key to more national resilience and less volatility that comes the "free" market (owned by the wealthiest).

[@nayhboseguera1774]

Very admirable actually, maybe not burn shit down but you know they do affect their government’s decisions meaningfully nonetheless

[@TheSmart-CasualGamer]

For a man who only won because he's not Marine LePen, Macron doesn't act like he's always been on fairly shaky ground politically.

[@johnjingleheimersmith9259]

He's in office until 2027... what exactly is so shaky about that? Being *not* Marine LePen should be a base level for any politician.

[@inconnu4961]

@@johnjingleheimersmith9259 Marine le Pen is the heroine you didnt know you needed!

[@B-A-L]

Macron is the Donald Trump of France.

[@philippebrehier7386]

@@inconnu4961 to make her rich financiers even richer, yes, and that, we understand when we check what she and her collaborators vote in the European parliament.

[@Lapantouflemagic0]

Our political system is made to be very sturdy, it is born from the shaky mess that the 4th republic was after all. but for all the whining it cause, it actually allows to lead a country that would be unleadable otherwise. people are upset because they don't want to work, that is litterally the only argument here, but still macron can push forward through this a reform that is clearly for the greater good. not caring about the finances would be so much easier.

[@serenaso4669]

Man literally went: "All in favor of the motion?" "..." "All opposed?" "*loud Nay!*" "Too bad i'm in charge! Approved!"

[@yalassa1]

That's not what literally means.

[@whannabi]

​@@yalassa1 that's litteraly not what litteraly means

[@tobiohnea3309]

​@@whannabi that's literally two mistakes in the word literally

[@Somebodyherefornow]

@@yalassa1 opposite intensiviser

[@Cancoillotteman]

It actually was a woman (Elisabette Borne), but yeah

[@dante343ify]

Us Belgians have something to learn from our French neighbours .. All we do is complain , but never take action. I have to admit , sometimes when I hear the news of a French protest I catch myself thinking : "Again???" , but this is infinitely better then sitting by passively as your government keeps trying to take things away from you. Goodluck my french comrades!

[@Verenigd_Dietsland]

you belgians should rejoin the netherlands, unless your part of the french part

[@RabeltCorez]

the govermment is just taking the empty and fake promises presented by them, nothing else; but dont worry, belgium is not as incompetent as france and is spending "only" a 10% of the gdp instead of the 14% that the french are doing

[@follet173yearsago9]

@@Verenigd_Dietsland No?

[@Kenruli]

@@Verenigd_Dietsland as much as I would like to agree with you but the answer is no Belgium clearly has its own identity and Belgium is great nation

[@MasterNemya]

Good luck with your 6 governments, it must not be easy every day

[@albevanhanoy]

As a French, this is actually quite a well-researched summary of the situation. Credits where credits are due, you omitted no important details. Well done.

[@Paul-xu6gt]

Il a pas parlé de Michael Zemmour et de tous les gens qui ont bien démonté la réforme

[@Paul-xu6gt]

@@BerlinBoi67 C'est du Hugo Décrypte mdr

[@Luredreier]

Is there any movements in France to make the electoral system more proportional or to switch from a presidential system to a parliamentarian system?

[@EUMadeSimple]

I also thought this was a great summary. One of my favourite recent tldr videos

[@albevanhanoy]

@@EUMadeSimple Yoooo The EU Made Simple! I'm a big fan of your channel ❤

[@EllieD.Violet]

Going on strike is a not so small part of the traditional French lifestyle.

[@pandaDotDragon]

always the same minority going on strike, the vast majority stays at home and don't give a f*ck of political chess games.

[@Artpsychee]

Making fun of their president is a sign of a healthy democracy. However when you say War in Russia and get 15 years of prison is different than taking 24 hours of restraint because you throw a rock on a policeman. French complaining is their national sport

[@Omegon8536]

that's what happens when you have a country filled with entitled knobheads

[@TomorrowWeLive]

@Alex Pokrandt middle-class commie intellectuals, unemployed rabble and immigrants are not in in any sense working-class or "proletariat"

[@badluck5647]

Anything to get out of work.

[@valm9462]

Just another reminder that "representative" democracy is not a democracy.

[@synkaan2167]

it's not even representative, or like a legal guardian representative lol. A true representative regime could be democratic, ours have just never been created to be democratic in the first place.

[@wednes3day]

​@@synkaan2167also because setting up proper legitimate representation in all cases very quickly gets super duper tricky .... and might almost be harder to pull off than direct democracy?

[@pierren___]

Exactly

[@synkaan2167]

@Riorozen No Macron has no accountability once elected he has a white card to do everything he wants and the people have absolutely no counter power, there is no balance and not even the separation of powers since he is at the head of the executive but also manages the legislature via his government. 75% of the French are against his reform and the majority of the French hate or at least dislike Macron but he still got reelected a second time because he only needs 20% to get to the 2nd round and with the support of most French billionaires and the media they own it is not very complicated lol. Then it's a free win against the far right, even a donkey can win against Marine Le Pen. The electoral system is a joke. Oh and there is several way to do a real democracy btw and you have obviously never work on this subject.

[@synkaan2167]

@@wednes3day The problem with direct democracy is that the vast majority of citizens have neither the time nor the inclination to be sufficiently informed and involved in absolutely all political issues, so it is not a very pragmatic choice, and because of the lack of work it leaves too much power to the lobbies, the media and the best speakers to influence the decision. But you could for example have a representative assembly drawn by lot according to the method of quotas (a bit like what is done for polls) with a system of control and accountability, all accompanied by mechanisms like the citizen's initiative referendum to allow the whole population to intervene (with a period of supervised debate etc.) on certain subjects when it is necessary. Or if you really want the principle that everyone can intervene at any time, we can consider a system of liquid democracy, it's more complicated but there are also some interesting things that can be done. There are many other alternatives but it would be too long to talk about it here

[@Flobyby]

62 is the _minimum_ retirement age. Effective retirement age is around 65.

[@walideg5304]

There is a major error that a lot of people are making here and even in France. 62 is not the age retirement. It’s the legal age when a worker can take its retirement with full pension if he has validated 43 years of world (less for certain special regimes.) In fact by putting this legal age to 64 as proposed by Macron and his gouvernement, a lot of people who started to work at 16, 17, 18, 19 or 20 yo will be forced to work 3, 2 or 1 more year to get a full pension even if they work as much as 43 years. This is totally unfair. And even more when you know the people affected are the people ones who suffer the more and have the most painful jobs. Moreover the mothers will be penalised because the months validated for pregnancy and first months of the child are not calculated the same way as before. Contrary to a lot of things written here, people of France go to retirement age like the average Europeans, because of the rules I have explained before. You need 43 years of active working for a full pension. So if you finish your university at 24 for instance, your full pension will be available at 67. So not different from the rest of Europe. In fact the real difference in France is the low rate of older worker, they are basically pushed to leave their companies by their companies who think they cost too much at a certain age. And to handle this huge problem, the gouvernement did nothing, they fear to had more mandatory constraints to companies because of their liberal ideology… they only propose to create a mandatory indicator on the senior workers but even if this indicator is bad for a company, there will be no consequence, no fees, no additional taxation…. At the end the women and the most hard workers are the two who will pay for this reform.

[@Psi-Storm]

Is 67 the end date, or do you even have to work longer if you started later for the full pension. In Germany 67 is the usual age for "full" pension. But i think our pension calculation is different. For every year you contribute you get 1 pension point if you earned the median wage. So someone who only worked 40 years to 67 gets 20% less than someone that started working with 17, (assuming they always had the same wage), even though both get the "full" pension, when they stop working at 67.

[@joythought]

Thanks for that insight. It has more nuance than i had understood. Thank

[@walideg5304]

@@Psi-Storm yes you are right m, 67 is the age for the full rate. The full rate in the private sector is 50% of the 25 best years of salary during your active work. So calculate it, it’s not that much. Even with an additional retirement (complementary retirement pension which depends of your sector), it’s not enough to live if your are not owner or your appartement or house. So I let you imagine if you don’t have the full pension and go with 20 % less … . The gouvernement will push people to misery.

[@cielvague]

This comment needs to be pushed higher up! The usual quips about the French striking all the time and being lazy are fine and all, but like always, the devil is in the details. And there are LOTS of important details to keep in mind. It would also be important to point out that this reform isn't justified in any way, even financial. Yes, you heard it. We're not even sure that this mess will actually help the pension system financially (which, by the way isn't actually in trouble at all. There's just gonna be a *transitional* ~10B deficit in the coming years, which can easily be covered by accrued reserve funds and, at worst, some debt. At this point, it's literally just a big dick contest on the part of Macron, who's starting to go full Caligula...

[@gweejiahan9336]

43 years is crazy, you would have to work from 21yrs old and never let up.... so a university student or someone who further his studies once he hits the job market he cant take a year off if he wants to retire at 64

[@unlapras9365]

Something you have to understand is that Macron was reelected by default. A majority of France dislike him and his politics, but they couldn't agree on who to put in charge instead. France is cut in three equivalent political factions : a socialist left, a neoliberal centre and a nationalist far right. Each group opposes the others and as a result no compromise can be reached. The issue is that, instead of acknowledging his lack of legitimity, Macron is acting as if people had voted for his ideas, and not against the others.

[@philippebrehier7386]

yup

[@samytouabi4087]

This is actually pretty standard for democracies. It’s also why Trudeau got re-elected in Canada.

[@arthas640]

@@samytouabi4087 true. many in the US didnt even like Trump but voted for him because they didnt like the alternatives and Biden has had some of the lowest poll numbers of any president but got voted for simply because he wasnt Trump.

[@unlapras9365]

@@samytouabi4087 Yes but Canada is a parliamentary regime. That means Trudeau is accountable to the Parliament and can be overthrown by a majority of MPs. He also cannot pass a law without a vote. On the other hand, Macron is accountable to no one. France is almost an elective monarchy.

[@MDP1702]

Isn't that essentially always the case? That the French president is disliked by a majority of the people? That isn't even really surprising since they often get less than a third of the votes in the first round and then it is about whose worse. Overall Macron even seemed to be doing better than his predecessors.

[@emarley05]

A huge point that has not been talked about in the video is that not only the governement used article 49-3 to pass the bill without a vote, they also activated numerous other articles like article 47-1 (that specifically for rectificative social security bills can allow the governement to restrict parliamentary debate), 44-2 (coercing a chamber to allow only one opponent and one proponent of an amendment to debate on an amendment) and 44-3 (forces a chamber to vote on the entire text given by the government) to shorten as much as possible the debate and gain a little bit of legitimity though the senate's vote, considering the opposition succeeded to prevent the National Assembly from voting on the first lecture. The senate conservative majority also used a point of order trick, with the governement, to entirely rewrite an article during the process which made tons of amendments fall.

[@LaelVideos]

You are also missing a crucial point. Without these articles, parliamentary debates could last indefinitely simply because there is no limit to the number of amendments that can be filed by an opponent. And every single amendment, even if it is the hundredth identical amendment already debated, still has to be discussed, taking 2 minutes each time. This is a strategy being heavily used by the far left party "La France Insoumise" (meaning "France Unbowed") to prevent substantive debates on law texts and prevent a vote at all. Let's do the maths, they filed 30.000 amendements, 2 minutes for each would require 1000 hours of debate. Knowing that almost none of these amendments are relevant or constructive, they are filed for the sole purpose of impeding the debate and prevent a vote. That is why, even when Emmanuel Macron had a clear majority at the parliament, he had to use the famous article 49.3 to pass a law, because it was not possible to vote anything because of the far left parties and their amendments.

[@emarley05]

@@LaelVideos 1. Article 47-1 was activated because the executive didn't trust the opposition anyway, and there's also article like article 38 of the senate's rule and said trick used by the government and senatorial majority that can make those amendments have reduced debate time or fall (if they're not rejected already in commission). It's the same psychology with people protesting : if you don't hear them, constantly spit and ignore them, you're going to use obstruction to force the government to hear you. 2. The process of article 47-1 which forces the acceleration of parliamentary process ends up always with the definitive vote of each assembly, and if not by the implementation of the reform via ordinances that would've been voted by parliament in order to continue being implemented. The executive had NO OBLIGATION to use article 49-3 because they used already a lot of the constitutional weapons that allowed them to get a vote. They used it because they knew LR MPs weren't a reliable strategy to get it voted and because a Fronde against it was preparing in the background.

[@Lrripper]

@@LaelVideos "oh no you don't get it, Macron had no choice acting like a totalitrian because he couldn't get the democrary on his side"

[@ArturoSubutex]

Important point to clarify: the €1,200 minimum pension would only apply to workers who have completed 43 years of full-time work at the minimum wage by the age of 64. As such, only about 10,000 people in the country would be eligible to it.

[@MactoneAurele]

And it's also not 1200€ in your bank account: the net pension is lower.

[@rafakrzentowski9549]

Striking and protesting are french national sports

[@doom8082]

A much better sport than watching some dingbats kicking around a ball.

[@PJ-om2wq]

​@@doom8082 until it's your truck that gets burned by angry farmers

[@Omegon8536]

@@doom8082 and full of just as many whiny knobheads

[@murphy7801]

​@@PJ-om2wq DW its insured

[@francoiser2188]

Je ne crois pas non ..... Je suis pas d'accord avec vous Rafal..

[@beatapanek]

Each time there are protests in France we say 'end of Macron' yet he is still standing, making deals with countries.... doesnt seem he is going anywhere

[@rocketraccoon1976]

So he's sort of like a roach? 🤔 🪳

[@davidty2006]

mans used to the things.

[@bigty5474]

And also because we can't ged rid of him. The president can't be fired from his position. While the government can. If the motion is voted monday this will be the 4th government of macron.

[@walideg5304]

The fact that the presidential position is protected in the French constitution. So yes he could easily keep is chair, but he will have troubles to make more important laws in the future because he will always need the National Assembly. Even with the 49.3. If the motion of no confidence is voted one day, he will have to call for a new general elevation. With, I guess, a much thinner numbers of deputies in the National Assembly. Maybe the far right will be in the top position, but I think it will be largely divided and not really gouvernable.

[@santividal9387]

Honestly, I don't understand France. How can you have a president and a prime minister and be the president the one whose running the government...

[@stivenstivens]

Thanks for covering that . I like that you use some history context . It helps to better understand . It make me realise how little I know about France and its modern history .

[@jim9667]

They are predominantly, on strike.

[@mpldr_]

Seriously, I would love to see such passion in everyday citizens. Here in germany, everyone's complaining, but hardly anyone takes their disapproval outside their facebook feeds.

[@philippebrehier7386]

Yup

[@dlugi4198]

Oh please no, we don't need another French in Europe.

[@kinght676]

Same with the US

[@seanonraet8327]

Same with most Western countries I feel. Gotta respect the French for not taking things laying down

[@Rb1_2_3]

With 3 prime ministers in the last 12 months in the UK and the consveratives wrecking the country id wish the UK had 1/10 of the passion the french have

[@luk6662]

I live in Paris and the amount of trash on the streets is shocking. Thank god it's not summer.

[@tariqbahoussain1442]

43 years contributions this is crazy. In the UK 30 years contribution despite the retirement age 67

[@joshuamarshall1718]

As a Canadian I'm jealous they're allowed to protest their government.

[@AAAA.8636]

"Allowed"

[@samdumaquis2033]

It's not your government if you can't protest, it's the government of someone else, the top 0.1% say ?

[@CptBluto]

Bear in mind we’re talking minimum retirement age, basically you’d have to start working at 18 or 19 if you want to retire at the minimum age with a full pension. When comparing retirement ages across Europe it’s more accurate to compare average effective retirement ages. And then the picture changes… a lot. The EU is on average at 64.3, France is already at 64.5. Germany and UK are at 65.5 and 66, so not that much gap. Add to it that Hollande reform is still producing its effects and is still slowly pushing France average retirement age every year . So by raising the minimum age to 64, Macron doesn’t want to put retirement age in France back in the middle of the pack (it already is) he wants to put it on the top.

[@philippebrehier7386]

Yep. I'am not for total communism, because like absolut capitalism, it seems quite impossible to realise. BUT, when you have socialized budgets of military and police, but not socialized budgets of water, food, education, healthcare, etc. I can't help myself to think that it's kind of an autoritarian way to protect the wealthiest people from the majority that were not as lucky the day of their birth. 90% of mainstream french media are already owened by 9 billionners and France is now in 26th place, in particular after the development of the law enforcement plan by the Ministry of the Interior in 2021. We are not going in the right direction if we want to improve individual freedoms.

[@Felix-st2ue]

That being said, the french receive unusually pensions compared to other countries. So the problem is still very much there.

[@e.d.gproductions7989]

@@philippebrehier7386 we could say that we are going in the right direction but in the bad sense of the word

[@Grityom]

@@Felix-st2ue that's a big talking point actually. A lot of people would like for the biggest pensions to be lowered a bit rather than working 2 years more.

[@TheBooban]

Who starts work at 18 anymore?! Anyways, the whole thing is stupid. Everybody should get back what they put in and retire early if they want to. It’s their money. If anybody didn’t save enough, they can get free bread and water till they die.

[@jonaskanwald9162]

Its just France being France

[@thewonderfultartiflette4733]

You being you

[@chheinrich8486]

Bring in the guillotine

[@soundscape26]

No wonder they'll have to work 2 years more... it's to make for all the time they spent striking during their lifetimes. 😄

[@me0101001000]

France is in France, being France

[@rizkyadiyanto7922]

nope, not until they use the guillotine.

[@lijie2511]

No worry, Belgium is 65 and talking about 67. Thank you!

[@stevenjohnston7809]

I'm not a big fan of ads; whatever you would like to call them, but I am more likely to watch them at the beginning of a video rather than the end. Not saying that I have never fast forwarded past them, but I digress. Great information your channel provides. I have no other outlet to get consistent information from across the Atlantic.

[@lanvinsgivenchy5421]

Quite agree with you

[@keyurshrestha6467]

The sky is blue, the sea is wet and the french are rioting

[@Mmjk_12]

I never realized how brutal the lyrics of the French national anthem were. some of the lines: "They’re coming right into your arms To cut the throats of your sons, your comrades!" The last line: "That their impure blood Should water our fields."

[@Niko3387Y]

The "blood" in the song it's the royalty blood.

[@philippebrehier7386]

Yeah. The left try to push to change it but the right wings, from Macron to Marine, want to keep it. Go figure. The idea of a blood more pure than others is still strong on the "right" side.

[@Lapantouflemagic0]

​@@Niko3387Y actually the lyrics say "let an impure blood water our furrows" which doesn't specify whose it is. it seem logical to assume the blood is that of the ennemy, but i heard that is actually was the blood of the peope, impure as opposed to the "pure blood" of the nobility. but did the nobility really pretend to be of pure blood ? preeetty sure not. marrying rich merchands to get a cash refill was not that uncommon i think...

[@sabinenadal8470]

La Marseillaise is a revolutionary war song, an exhortation to fight against foreign invasion (in 1792) and a patriotic call for general mobilization, but also a hymn to freedom and a call to fight against tyranny.

[@arthurbriand2175]

It's actually our "compagne" wich means female companion or wife. And the impure blood is " May an impure blood water our fields". The ownership of the impure blood has been a long standing argument and it's commonly accepted that the revolutionnaries are singing about their own blood in distinction to "pure" noble blood. They want the honor of shedding blood for their nation.

[@Beatriz-lj2td]

Thanks for your explanation,very good.

[@osmoze47300]

Some additional information from a french citizen : It is the 11th time Macron is using a constitutional clause to bypass a parliamentary vote in a single year... he is basically governing like he is the king of the country and refuse to even meet the leaders of the strikes to negociate.

[@momom6197]

I mean, that's pretty much how it's supposed to work. De Gaulle designed the 5th Republic to almost be a democratic monarchy, with our blessing. Better an enlightened tyrant than the mob rule and disinformation they have in the US.

[@margaretcurrie4093]

Yes that's the problem.. He keeps bypassing it. Mybe he knws they wouldn't allow what he has done again. 👍

[@giselle_kvm]

So, he's a tiny little dictator

[@osmoze47300]

@@giselle_kvm Exactly , and the cops are free to abuse there power during the protest because in the last major strikes 2-3years ago people lost hands and eyes and no cop as being send to jail ... last week they gave orders to the SAMU (emergency doctors who come on the street to evacuate people) to not help and 2 people's lifes are at risk now because they arrived 4hours late ...

[@momom6197]

@@giselle_kvm So were Napoléon and César! The connotations of the word don't match its definition, and in this specific case it means that it is not necessarily a damning argument.

[@Telluwide]

What most of the world doesn't understand is that French public sector workers, actually take a pay cut working for the State. Comparing similar jobs in the private sector, they are paid quite a bit less on average. The understanding is that if they work for the State at lower wages than they could get in the private sector, that they would gain in other benefits, like job security and earlier retirement. That was the deal. I'm sure that if the French government only raised the retirement age in the private sector, that these protests would clear away themselves. Unfortunately, the public sector in France makes up 22% of the workforce....and they are highly organized into what many countries weakened long ago, Unions....

[@Artpsychee]

They have the safest jobs and the easiest ones. Clearly 90% of them are sitting on their desk and they hate their jobs. They do it badly.

[@gsugesuio]

They are guaranteed to never get fired. That's well worth the pay cut, and I am sorry, but they don't deserve a more favorable retirement than private workers.

[@doolittle555]

Whatever, I agree that there is just too much emphasis on the public sector in France in general. But passing the reform in full force using mass repression and anti-democratic means is the real problem here. Macron is the symptom of far more concerning problems over the foundations of this Republic. Macron didn't win the elections. People didn't voted for him for his ideas, but just to stop the Right. It's not just a reform that's at stake now. It's the whole political trajectory of France and its people.

[@popkhorne5372]

@@willembissett7223 because they are paid less.

[@RagingGoblin]

@@Artpsychee You guys are absolutely clueless. I get that there's this stereotype about the public sector, but you guys seem actually proud of revelling in it.

[@georgiewalker5826]

The French striking is news in the same way that raining in England is news

[@pomperidus]

Dear non-French viewers, I hear a lot of people mentioning a retirement age of 65 or 67 years in their country. In France being 67 or having worked continuously 43 years is already mandatory to benefit from a full pension. So my question is do you also have an option to retire some years earlier for a lower pension? if yes starting at which age? This might the number to be compared to this 62 or 64 mnimal age.

[@veronicamaine3813]

In Aus, minimum retirement age is 66 - and you’ll find similar in most of the rest of the world. The French have just resisted facing reality for longer.

[@dezafinado]

In the US, you must be 62.5 years old to receive reduced benefit and full benefit is at 67. The required number of working years is 10. Most people retire around 65 because that's when Medicare (government health insurance for old people) begins. A nice retirement in the US typically requires more than benefit from Social Security (social charges), you need other resources like personal savings and a company 401k fund, which you can take money out after 59.5 years old. If you have saved enough money, you can retire early and wait until you're 62.5 or older to receive benefits from Social Security. Public servants (teachers, police, firefighters) usually have their own pension system.

[@TheRadPlayer]

@@sarahconnor2024 Yes, the older generation are being asked work more, because the demographics of the country are skewing older and older.

[@Triquetra15]

In America, we have social security which is like a pension. There years requirement isn’t very strong, there is some formula for the benefit. It kind of works like a pension. The full benefit is 67 right now, but you can get more if you wait until you are 70. You may receive reduced benefits beginning at age 62. However, social security is going insolvent, unless something is changed. I think there needs to be structural reforms, it needs to be winded down over time, or it needs to move to a defined-contribution plan. It costs every American a decent chunk of our paycheck and then the employer doubles the contribution. I would much rather keep that money and save it myself.

[@harrythecat8198]

Dear non-french viewers, if you want to destroy for you all advantages our grands parent have build with their arms for us (hospital security, retirement 60 years old, pre-retirement for hard working .) for the profit of ultra capitalism and corrupt system etablished on abusive domination since 30 years on the people (coucou Macron Sarko Hollande) with démocratie on the bottom : Its your choice. But not our. If you like liers, scam, WE dont like. Simply. Good Luck to you...

[@benitocamelo1488]

I recall when something similar happened in my country (Mexico). When Andrés López (the country's current president) took office, one of the first things he did was raise the retirement age from 65 to 68 years and no one cared. In fact, he did a lot of things wrong before people started bothering protesting this year against his attempted electoral reform (and even then, the protests weren't as massive). My respect and admiration for the French, who are now protesting and didn't wait for things to get worse to do so

[@snomcultist189]

It’s getting around time for Napoleon LXIX to assume the throne

[@Ashadow700]

Nice ;)

[@michaelh13]

Or King Louis CILV

[@theuser810]

LXIX - CDXX

[@anustubhmishra]

@@theuser810 69 - 420 nice

[@K0sm]

No

[@johndonovan6840]

I love how the french confronts power!!!

[@MactoneAurele]

Thanks. To clarify, we are the power. 🙂

[@yvesmou]

As a french citizen living in Norway, I say nice summary, I'll forward it! Thank you.

[@andreaskavak2364]

As a French citizen in Sweden, i agree with your opinion.

[@macjc5]

Macron: LET THE EAT CAKE! The people: guillotine!

[@Imperatorius45]

Americans: wtf is a pension

[@bowhunter8532]

We just call it social security....

[@peksn]

43 years? That means that as soon as you turn 21 you need to start working, if you are a university student this is literally impossible for you'll at least be 22 when you finish your carreer, and then let's talk about the fact that they can fire you or you need some time to find a job, unrealistic.

[@achillezins6548]

That's why quite a lot of people retire around the age of 65-67

[@lukaselem7892]

Because 62 is a MINIMUM to get full pension. But you still need your 43 years. And then, 67 is the MAXIMUM : if you don't have the 43 years yet, you still get the full pension by that age. In fact, the average retirement age is around 64-65 already. Rising the MINIMUM form 62 to 64 is really only affecting people who started working early. That is mostly poor people with a physically difficult job. This is the reason why people are so dead against this reform. You could totally reform the pension system in a fairer way, by tweaking other parameters !

[@MegaDixen]

@@lukaselem7892 He is the deal france dont have the money to pay for it, so deal with it. in denmark the pension age 67. If you wonna go in pension before save money for it. Fance dept is 98.1% to GDP.

[@kennethadler7380]

If your a university graduates your earing more money than blue collar workers

[@amh9494]

In France (and the UK) a degree takes three years, you start at 18.

[@mraaronhd]

At this point, I just think the French are born instinctively knowing how to strike.

[@goldenfiberwheat238]

“They don’t want to vote to take down the government” I don’t think voting is gonna be the thing that takes it down at this point…

[@amauryv1408]

French here, the problem is that's even more anti-democratic than described in the video. Our stats suggest over 80% of the population are against the reform, and 90% of the active population. The senate didn't vote the article, because Macron didn't allow them to debate and bought most of their votes, with several scandals around that. In addition to that, the assembly vote would have just led to his reform failing, which is why he triggered 49.3. The republicans don't necessarily like the government, which is why he didn't want a vote and instead relies on it. Because the difference now is that Macron can threaten to dissolve the assembly if his government is kicked out, so the republicans are afraid they wouldn't be reelected. And even then, a lot of them will openly vote againsy him, and exposed some attempts from some of our ministers to buy their votes ! The thing is it's not about us not wanting to work more, but there are already people who die before reaching retirement and Macron's goal is to have this number increase for something unnecessary. Every analyst agree on the fact that there is no, and will not be any funding problem on pensions ! And even if there were, they would easily be solved by stopping fiscal fraud, useless help to startups that for the most part don't do anything, etc... they spent twice the budget they "need" on gifts to billionaires every year since Macron's in power ! They just want money for themselves, even by taking 2 years from everyone, and at the same time destroying public institutions like schools, hospitals... So for those reasons and more, whatever happens on wednesday we will keep going until this government full of assholes are unable to harm the country further.

[@peterfireflylund]

Over 80% of the French population is economically illiterate.

[@cuginidifrancia94]

however, it is undeniable that a pension reform needed to be done. I don't know, what are the alternative proposals?

[@FunnyParadox]

@@cuginidifrancia94 to actually tax rich people theur fair share

[@amauryv1408]

@@cuginidifrancia94 It's not necessary, it's bullshit. Macron's government spends 150 billion which is like 5 times the amount they "need" (they actually don't because there are no financial problems with pensions) on public help to big companies, which then give 90 billion to their shareholders.

[@amauryv1408]

Also, big companies are only taxed for 5% to their income compared to literally every other company which is 30%. Macron is just some rich kid who got into the government so he could make a few rich assholes'lives even easier, even if he destroys the country in doing so

[@esense9602]

Macron: I am the Senate 😅

[@hirotwo2018]

Respect from Brazil 🇧🇷

[@MactoneAurele]

[@nicolaspierret1574]

Short answer - cause this is France 😍🇨🇵.

[@colin8696908]

The fact that police are exempt should tell you a lot.

[@ryleynadhir4685]

They protect the state and the capitalist class, so wouldn't be surprised if they can go retire any time after murdering anyone who's part of the working class, because that's how they operate

[@itzikashemtov6045]

The fact that some fuckers can smash my car and the police thinks it's legit is just plain autistic and a powder keg for violence, At least in normal countries.

[@shauncameron8390]

They're part of the public sector.

[@highergroundsurleshauteurs2647]

You did a great job!

[@iainballas]

A scary thing for alot of us in the USA (I'm not sure about other places) is that there is talk of raising the social security collection age, all while full-time work is harder and harder to come by, especially at a 'living wage'. Most of us in my generation are not even paying into retirement of any kind beyond federal taxes, and most of us will not be able to retire (even under the current rules) until well into our 70s. This is on top of our generation not being able to get healthcare, and having no stability (moving every few years, new jobs every couple years). All this is shaping up to most of us probably working until we die.... or being homeless for the last few years that we're too broken down to do anything.

[@alpeshmittal3779]

Things are only going to go worse for working class as AI taking more and more jobs away from humans. There won't be permanent jobs available and ageism will make it harder for older people to keep working. Sooner we get something like UBI started better for quality of human life.

[@sarahconnor2024]

And some in the comments would like the French to copy the most alarming models for the lives of the people of the world... Courage and do not let yourself be taken by the haves who are incapable of humanity and social justice

[@whannabi]

The US is a completely different beast.

[@BoxStudioExecutive]

Nobody relies on social security in retirement except for poors, and nobody in the USA actually cares about poors

[@prsimoibn2710]

​@@sarahconnor2024 globalisation 101

[@dragonspeed3000]

What TLDR:News forgot to mention is that in this reform : the minimum age grows much more than the required months to have full pension. As a result, the reform disproportionately affects the lower classes citizens who worked early in their lives (cf factory worker). They will attain full pension much earlier than the minimum age and will be required to continue working. And the higher educated citizens who worked later in their life will not be as much affected by the reform. As they are more dependant on the number of months needed for full pension than the minimum age. It is this perceived unfairness of the reform that has crystallised french unhappiness to the government

[@hjalmar4565]

You know what is unfair? A part of the early retirement is payed by all the other countries in the EU!

[@mrlambda7580]

@@hjalmar4565 France has lost a lot by entering the European Union, starting with its nuclear fleet and its industry. France no longer wants to pay for the strategic errors of the Germans, the Germans will cost us more and more.

[@dragonspeed3000]

@@hjalmar4565 I am not emitting any judgement. Just stating that this is the "Perceived unfairness" that is causing the unrest. "Perceived" here is important. And it is a point that TLDR missed. However if I may answer on the same ground as you: I will state that France contribute much more to the EU budget than it receives anyway

[@hjalmar4565]

@@mrlambda7580 What has France nuclear Fleet to do with the EU? And no, France doesn't pay that much when you compare them with other countries.

[@dragonspeed3000]

@@hjalmar4565 yeah if you compare it to Germany and... that's all.. yeah.. 1st - 17 213 M € for Germany and 2nd - 7 513 M € for France in Benefits / Contribution balance. And for my source : the statistica chart of 2018. I will not have the time in my day to answer further but I however wish you a good day. It's hard to debate on a public space but I appreciate it nonetheless.

[@RhianKristen]

Good luck to them! We all deserve better and it's damned inspiring to see so many people fighting back against this creeping demand for more by all of our governments.

[@stevej71393]

"We all deserve better" says who? Standards of living are higher than ever. Little more than 100 years ago, most people worked in factories, and 200 years ago most people worked on farms. The vast majority of people didn't live past 65. Providing pensions for people who are living longer and longer is a massive financial drain. There is no free lunch.

[@RhianKristen]

@@stevej71393 says I. People might be living longer and working less hours than during the Industrial Revolution, but that says nothing about how that progress is distributed or how times and technology has changed or how we experience that progress. People do deserve better. We should always be working to better our lives and the world around us. That’s not a controversial statement. As for the free lunch… well, there could be if there was political will for it.

[@josephrobi6806]

That is a great video details 😅

[@stevens1041]

We can only hope.

[@notusneo]

French and revolution is just a yearly tradition

[@MactoneAurele]

Only once a year? You underestimate us. 🙂

[@felixarbable]

wish we had this spirit in the uk

[@answerman9933]

The spirit to protest against something that make good economic sense?

[@felixarbable]

@@answerman9933 obviously the futher exploitation of people in the workforce makes sense economically but surely society is about more than that.

[@bobing1752]

@@answerman9933 who does that make sense for? That reform obviously doesn't benefit the people who will have to work longer to get the same thing. And other ways to finance the potential future deficit are possible. But what Macron chose was to make the working poeple pay for it. So again, who does it make sense for?

[@bmaxime8771]

@@answerman9933 damn you're the dumbest fucker in the comments xD You probably are the kind of guy getting butt fucked by his government and asking for more xD How pathetic are you

[@Wohodix]

you need to build local solidarity with everyone. the capitalism system is design to get you on your knees barely making it each month. This way you have no time left to take a step back and figure out a way out of it. Then they will point you an random culprit responsible for your conditions (immigration woke ), anything else than their own system.

[@yousoufkirkwood6289]

Good one!

[@acceleratum]

in Portugal we are up to 66 if I recall and is increasing 3 months every year so by the time I retire Ill have to be 70+ .. ridiculous.

[@bowhunter8532]

Social security or pensions are just a Ponzi scheme anyway. Why people are surprised by any of this is funny to me.

[@Ralphieboy]

So I could be retired for two years already? Damn, wrong country!!!

[@axel6269]

If you worked nonstop since the age of 18? Yes.

[@thedude7319]

Let me guess, that politicians in france can still retire early ?

[@MactoneAurele]

The senate voted the bill and they specifically refused to change their own retirement, they can take a full retirement after 4 years, meanwhile people in the street will have to work for 43 years or more. There is a big problem of democracy.

[@CharlesDuchemin-ip1yf]

@@MactoneAurele Yes their pensions don't represent much money in the grand scheme of things but it's an incredibly bad symbol and fuels hatred of the institutions. They should have taken a pension cut like the MP's did. Senators are already old and wealthy people anyway. If you want to make changes you need to lead by example.

[@thorveim1174]

Oh yes. And even better, most of the higher positions come with a lifelong bonus that they can stack on top of other similar bonuses if they go through several such positions. basically more often than not getting to one such position even for a very short duration means a nice payroll for the rest of your life. And thats ON TOP of the retirement.

[@princeloup5093]

indeed. The cops also. The one that are beating the shit out of the opposition is allowed to go in pension , guess what.... at 52 years old. Politicians is even worse. two mandate of politic (what ever which) allow to touch an additional pension of 5k month. They still have theirs pensions from their civil carreers next to it.

[@princeloup5093]

and poitics carreer in France is rarely only one mandate but a life time of different mandates, some allowing to touch several pensions. more the avantage in nature linked to politic function.

[@Jahanceltic]

Well done for 600k

[@digitalcommunity7621]

Brilliant video! And a lovely like👍

[@joseaca1010]

"the french are protesting against the government" this statement is true no matter what century you read it

[@francoisfournier2284]

C’est un gros bordel

[@jeremieherard2166]

I love that title: "why are the french striking AGAIN"

[@MactoneAurele]

On est pas réputés que pour la baguette 🙂

[@FWMuscle]

We had same in Russia with Putin, except he changed the age from 60 to 65. For reference average expectancy of living is 69 (nice)

[@FWMuscle]

Note: pension is 100$ a month

[@NaCle62]

But I suppose every attempts of strikes over Russia is severely cut off. But every nation has its population boiling. And once it sparks out, the revolts are on different stages..

[@user-zj7be7xl8o]

Les Français peuvent battre leur système d'une manière bien meilleure et plus intelligente. Le syndicat et l'opposition devraient appeler le peuple à une suspension complète du travail et du paiement des factures et des services publics à l'État. Dans très peu de temps, les résultats montreraient et Macron devrait annuler la loi adoptée.

[@thorveim1174]

ça n'arrivera pas. Beaucoup de travailleurs on besoin de travailler pour vivre et ne peuvent littéralement pas se permettre de faire greve, et certains secteurs comme l'électricité n'ont tout simplement pas droit a l'arret total.

[@aragnome6235]

@@thorveim1174 après on voit bien que beaucoup de secteur sensibles peuvent quand même se mettre en grève

[@TheShadow89090]

It's still funny to me that politicians decide over stuff that does not effect them in the slightest lmao ... And I'm happy to see that the French make the politicians remember who really holds the power in the country ... Sadly the people in most countries aren't like that

[@jbshiva865]

It is nice to see people holding their government's feet to the fire.

[@badluck5647]

The rioters and arsonists aren't impressing anyone.

[@Ivovify]

How is this funny? Governments do this continiously. The people might kick and shout but in the end pensions need to be paid and if there is nobody working to pay for pensions, there will be no pensions. There are good reasons why debt is so high in France.

[@Duck-wc9de]

I personally see it as a disaster. This is because I'm seeing this happening all over western europe, just manifested in diferent ways. It's a menifestation of the irreformability of western european states that would rather keep running to a colapse in the future than actually face the people and do what has to be done. This is why I respect the ex portuguese prime minister Passos Coelho. He faced the people and said: No. And handed a clean sligthly reformed portuguese state to the next government (that spent 7 years activelly removing the reforms, so my point of european irreformability still stands) This is the reason why I see eastern europe as the future power center of europe.

[@notright7]

@@Duck-wc9de But most of these people have never ever worked a fen hard day in their lives ever. This affects the working people, not the ones that sit on their butts every day like macron does.

[@domhuckle]

I hear more people talking about the French strikes than the English

[@thetexanbuzzsaw3145]

Man I wish the US could do this

[@novaconsul3875]

People compare France's pension age to other countries... Comparing to mediocrity is a poor metric. People fail to understand that french pay far more taxes, specially to entertain such. Therefore it's only fair, or should result in massive tax cut, which isn't the case at all. Therefore, Macron wishes to break the social contract without any compromise nor even negotiations, so it was expected.

[@goganii]

Especially since they keep lowering the taxes on the rich

[@henkheemskerk4437]

Look at the Dutch

[@PJ-om2wq]

Depends though, I thought that if you have a large family that you hardly pay any tax at all.

[@walideg5304]

@@henkheemskerk4437 Dutch are a submissive people in vast majority. In recent history at least. 3 or 4 centuries before it was different, and a model for the rest of Europe.

[@TomorrowWeLive]

​@@BerlinBoi67 well somebody's an ignorant Froggy. This very channel just covered the very successful Dutch farmer's protests. Difference is, the Dutch protest for freedom--in order to be able to run their own business and earn their own living. The French protest for freebies--handouts, gibs, wealth stolen from the productive and given to the parasitic. In other words, the Dutch are men, not whingeing spoilt children like you. They deserve respect; you deserve only contempt.

[@The_New_IKB]

France being France I see!

[@laiphone8972]

As a french I can say that is a good summary of the situation Just 5:01 the Greens are in the NUPES

[@wesleyboi2000]

We've let worse slide here in America for too long

[@juancarlosalonso5664]

That’s what happens when you have a president who is beholden to big money instead of the people.

[@answerman9933]

This is what happens when the general populace want something that is not economically sustainable in the long-term.

[@UkSapyy]

​@@answerman9933 This is what happens when government doesn't maintain a standard of living that allows those in their 20's to support a young family.

[@answerman9933]

@@UkSapyy Why is that the government's responsibility? Less than 100 years ago people did not move from their families until they could afford to provide a family on their own.And that will not happen with starting pay. The notion that starting pay should be enough to pay for living alone never really existed over a general population in western society for all that long. It was somewhat prevalent for about a generation or two after WWII because of the post-war economic boom. Then economics balanced itself out. Even then, many people who moved from their family before marriage lived with a roommate.

[@UkSapyy]

@Answer Man Serfdom still existed in some nations 100 years ago. People worked from childhood. Slums existed in Europe. People came from large families. And didn't get a fair share of pay. That's why they created the labour movement to ensure they got a share of the profits. That's why by 1948 the UK had a national health service created as a human right. Here in the UK people, over the last 100 years, quality of life has increased up until 2008. Since then, we've seen the largest gap occur between average family and wealthiest in society. I see other Western European nations saying the same. The reason why the minimum wage is new is because we invented workers' rights to ensure people get a fair share. An economy that keeps wealth in circulation is a rich one. A society which let's wealth get trapped among the richest families sees a drop in living standards and stagnation in development. The government could have prepared for this but it chose not to. Their job is to ensure a nation remains strong and is acting in its own best interests. Right now, putting money back into circulation is the best option because the future is dependent on the population, a population which is better educated than 100 years ago with the purpose of performing a skilled job from day one meaning people in their 20's fully deserve to be getting a minimum pay that let's them support a young family. NASA control room had an average age of 26 years old during the moon landing. There's no reason why we shouldn't be taking tough action in order to redistribute wealth back to the average family, like pre 2008 Europe.

[@answerman9933]

@@UkSapyy Where did serfdom exist 100 years ago. I thought the Romanovs were the final holdouts and ended it before the turn of the century. What does a NASA control room have to do with the UK?

[@theultimatefreak666]

France tries to raise pension age from 62 to 64: citizens go wild Germany tries to raise pension age from 65 to 69: ....

[@IM_AYKHARAAD]

France has more socialists and protective measures and laws, and this is now among the French strongest values. That’s why the French are protesting so hard on this.

[@armingleiner5292]

The French will go crazy about anything even if there is no reason they will protest.

[@Turai12]

The French has the right idea.

[@oldman2800]

Australia does increase its pension age from 65 to 67. Bummer when you just turned 65 Although with compulsory superannuation contributions most people just retire when they want to however access to super is corrupted by government by the tax rate of withdrawls

[@pietikke5598]

In the Netherlands it is at 67. We also got 1.5 trillion saved in the pension system. The communist in the EU want that money with help of our corrupt WEF puppets they will get at it to.

[@west5828]

How can a dictator be able to go on and on for many years in power this it's just unbelievable and apolling.

[@hdhdhadn8356]

Man, even the Fremhc parliament have people who shout and yell st each other

[@BritishRepublicsn]

The only parliaments that aren't yelling at eachother are one-party parliaments

[@hdhdhadn8356]

@@BritishRepublicsn China and North Korea 💀

[@Taeriqify]

Did they ever stop striking?

[@ffarkasm]

Feels like constant protests since 1789.

[@jeremieherard2166]

*496

[@princeloup5093]

@@jeremieherard2166 indeed the march for real democraty is a long way. Like all human evolutions...

[@ross8474]

Wish I could retire at 64 .Why did we not protest in the UK ?

[@100couscous]

The best english-speaking report I've seen on the topic, great job.

[@CARL_093]

french revolution in modern time i sympathized to them to the french people

[@jbubu1174]

Pretty good summary, i add to your work that the gouvernment pass this law as a financial project of whatever shitty false reason, and by that it allow the prime minister to use as many 49.3 (they cant use more than 2 or 3 in a regular law) as they want, so this last 49.3 wasnt the first in few month but the 12 (maybe 11) that why people are soooo upset Its not that the law was pass by many votes and articles and only the last vote was force, but they bypass almost any vote concerning this law. sorry for my english i know its not perfect :)

[@felixnimo]

Meanwhile in Germany, the politicians can do whatever they want 🤢👎

[@Tjalve70]

Pension systems are essentially pyramid schemes. The money YOU pay into the pension system, isn't saved in some bank account, or invested in some stocks. The money is paid out the current pensioners. And so when you retire, the money you are being paid, doesn't come from investments made while you were working. The money comes from people who currently work and pay money into the pension system. So what this means, is that Money In, has to equal Money Out. If Money Out is consistently higher than Money In, then the pension system will collapse. I know it's a populist move to lower retirement ages. Because it won't have any bad effects RIGHT NOW. But if it undermines the pension system, then it will be bad for everyone in the future.

[@PJ-om2wq]

It's different in the UK. The state pension is as you describe, but it's really minimal and will just about keep you from starving and no more. Most of us also have either private pensions or workplace pensions in which the funds most definitely are specific to the person who paid or earned the funds and most definitely are invested in the stock or bonds market. The other interesting point about having a private pension is that you can retire at whatever age you like, it's just that if you want to retire younger you have to put more funds in when you are working. The state pension kicks in at 67 but many people start taking a private pension earlier (or later).

[@pawelszewczenko6723]

This is why the pyramid pensios system sucks. Everyone should only pay for him/herself and go on pensioen whenever he/she wants it. This should be much better solution.

[@diegoyuiop]

@@pawelszewczenko6723 True but the problem is that switching to that system is very costly because of the fact that today workers have already spent thousands of euros to the state for decades

[@pawelszewczenko6723]

@@diegoyuiop Yes, but it is still better thank working till 64. If they will strecht the pensionage further, we will maybe never reach pension age. There is a little time to enjoy life after working in this system. For me it's more important, even if I should get less pension.

[@diegoyuiop]

@@pawelszewczenko6723 yes they should offer more flexibility in terms of retirement age, reducing the monthly check

[@StarshineBomber]

There is an actual turmoil in Les Républicains. The president is saying one thing, the leader of the parlimentary party is also saying something else. And a lot of the MPs are actually thinking about voting the thing, even if it means having a storm brewing in the party.

[@py8554]

The protests look far more violent than the one in Hong Kong a few years ago.

[@domenicoberardi2739]

Bravi 👏

[@MonkeyOWar]

Good on the French, I wish them the best. I wish the UK had a back bone like them.

[@Omegon8536]

we won't because we don't act like entitled morons who resort to violence whenever they don't get their way like a petulant baby

[@armingleiner5292]

Not good on the french. Raising the retirement age is no brainer. It should have been done a long time ago already.

[@leif_____8579]

Not good. The pension system is unsustainable and the ones that would pay for it if it doesn't change will be future generations

[@oklahomapirate6945]

it's not good, the average life expectancy has increased and so has elderly health since the law meaning the more time that goes by the more unsustainable it gets. Not to mention the birth rate has declined

[@UkSapyy]

​@Oklahoma Pirate The problem is the birth rate, which is happening because people are not having kids in their early 20's. The youth in Europe can't afford to live or buy homes, the solution is to give young families a good quality of life in order to start families and not make the old work longer because once their generation is dead who is going to replace them? If they were out of work, they could be helping their children with child care. Plus, most people in Europe retire between 64 & 66 anyway.

[@britzman9905]

F neoliberalism

[@paulbata9649]

what a joke! australias pension age 68 for men and then asset tested!

[@emarley05]

3:50 a precision about the 85% thing is that it was already implemented by sarkozy, but never applied, so it's not a new thing

[@jmar1us920]

They doing 100 revolutions speedrun🔥

[@bigty5474]

Glitchless also !

[@battragon]

Force of habit.

[@jepettoNFT]

Congratulations on your really precise summary of the situation, it's a better work than what our corrupt media can produce. It feels like you lived through everything as we, French people, have to. And yes he was re-elected, but it's because of the usual "fear the far right" tactics (which now feels like a bad joke seeing the police beating peaceful protesters and the authoritarian ways he handles his policies), not because we wanted him in office.

[@DigiDiver]

If only the government of Europe would look after their own people instead of immigrants.

[@jimcronin2043]

There are some similarities in the US with respect to the Social Security System (also known as the Third Rail of American politics). Everyone knows that the fund is inadequate to fund its current and future obligations. It is actually three funds thought of as one by the public which have their own functions. Most people do not want to water down benefits, although some steps have been adopted. More people were outraged by Pres. Bush's proposal to privatize a portion of the fund than they were by the attack on Iraq.

[@obfuscated3090]

That third rail is because privatization empowers the financial parasites Social Security is insurance against. The solution is return to 1950s/60s tax structures which said parasites pretend never happened. Business and labor are natural enemies, not just competitors. Depressions and recessions demonstrate the foxes rule the hen house but the hens want some security or they'll be rightly out for blood. OTOH Iraq reflects that war and foreign policy are far too complex for a lazy ignorant public who mostly read therefore think at 8th grade level. As the masses are incapable of being techies they're incapable of other complex thought. They set conditions for their engagement including affirming their feelings. Iraq cost the US a trivial (in functional terms) amount of blood and treasure relative to population and GDP with the expense spread over time. Everyone sent there was a paid volunteer who had zero excuse (I'm a career USAF veteran) for not studying politics and history beforehand. Of course there was little public objection. The ruling class get their NeoCon hobby projects/constabulary adventures and in return the public expect bread (they pay for their own circuses).

[@sukhdeepsingh1856]

It's not like he cares about what happens because he is going to go away for the next election so he is like f it