French citizens have the benefit of one of the lowest retirement ages in all of Europe. At 60 years of age, they can legally retire although full retirement does not begin until age 65. Compare this to their neighbors in Germany, Luxembourg, and Spain where the legal retirement age is 65, a full five years later. France's President, Nicolas Sarkozy, has proposed raising the retirement age and reducing other retirement benefits in order to help preserve the social security system. People are living longer and reproducing less. This translates to a growing percentage of retirees (65 and over) who will be receiving benefits relative to a shrinking percentage of people who will be of working age (15-64) and contributing to the retirement system. This disproportional growth is not only being experienced in France but in most developed countries including the U.S.
Due to the proposed changes, working age people have been pouring into the streets protesting the changes in order to put pressure on the government to rescind the proposed law. After living in Washington DC for more than 10 years, I saw my fair share of protests. What makes the protests here unique is that they are not only protesting but they are organizing national strikes, shutting down entire sectors of the economy. For example, refinery workers are shutting down production. This has caused gasoline prices to go up and disrupted supply chains such that certain gas stations have run out of gas, especially in the south of France. I have seen a 20 cent rise in the price of gas, now $7.85 per gallon in my village. My brother-in-laws' business of delivering home heating oil has also run into problems. With 7 of the 12 major refineries on strike, they have had to drive an hour farther to find a fuel transfer station just to fill up their tanker truck.
The once reliable option of commuting to work by high speed train has become sporadic. Flights out of major airports are being canceled. Commuters now have to check the news every evening to determine whether trains will be running the next day. The French government estimates that the strikes have cost the economy between $250-500 million per day. These types of strikes have been going on since September. Workers can leave their posts without fear of losing their jobs due to the strong labor laws here in France. Unions in France are very strong and are the organizers of the majority of the strikes.
My encounter with the strikers came last week as I was commuting to nearby Strasbourg for one of my required immigration training courses. It was 8am on a Tuesday, peak commuting time when I ran into traffic jam on the interstate. Fortunately, I was on a motorcycle and was able to ride between stopped cars. When I arrived at the front of the traffic jam, I saw two rows of cars with red CGT union flags waving out their windows and several police vehicles escorting them along the way. This is when I realized that the traffic jam was caused by a planned road block as a form of protest. I weaved through the road block emerging onto the empty interstate in front of the road block. It took me 60 minutes to ride just 10 miles. The other cars behind me were not so lucky.
So when will the strikes stop? The law was proposed in mid-June and has now passed through both houses of French Parliament and is waiting for signature from President Sarkozy as the last step. His signature is expected early this month. I've been told that the strikes will likely increase in this last phase as a last ditch effort by the unions to have the law withdrawn.
Additional information:
- Retirement Age Chart for Europe
- French comic: Carpenter (Translation: “Okay Nenesse, you retiring soon? Ten more years.”)
- French comic: Retirement Gift (Translation: “What should we get him for his retirement? He already has a hearing aid, cane, false teeth, and walker.)
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