16.01.2023, Paris.
An increase in France’s retirement age is rejected in particular by those under 35, 20 minutes reported on January 14.
In France, many young people between the ages of 20 and 35 are convinced that they will never get their pensions, believing that the pension system will collapse by then. From the many interviews taken by journalists, a unified opinion among young people, defined as “we will die sooner than we will be able to retire,” can be concluded.
The pension reform desired by the government, which raises the legal retirement age to 64, is particularly unacceptable to young people. Here are a few examples of young people’s statements about the Bourne government’s pension reform bill.
20 minutes describes how thirty-year-old Nicolas, taking a drag on his cigarette to get up the courage, runs a simulation of his retirement on his cell phone. The verdict falls, as expected, fatal. With the new reform, he will have to work until age 67 to be eligible for a full pension. “Where do you think I’ll be at 67? Either in a cemetery or in a hospital, given my lifestyle.”
Nicolas, a Parisian, belongs to a generation that no longer believes in the possibility of receiving pensions at the end of his working life. An Institute Montaigne study published in January shows that 59% of people under 35 think the current retirement age – 62 – is too high. The national average holds this view with 48% of respondents. One can infer what young people think about retiring at 64…
Lucie, 29, whose mother, aunt and grandmother died before age 60 of breast cancer in her family, has absolutely no confidence about retiring. “When retirement was at 60, I could still hope to live to that point. In a few years, we’ve gone from 60 to 64 – I guess I [have to work] until 67 if I want a full retirement. And that’s without being able to understand [the need for reform], without being able to say anything. But in my family, a woman who lives to 67 doesn’t exist.”
Sébastien of Perpignan doesn’t have much faith in his future life in retirement either. He has no predisposition to cancer, however, but he is disappointed by the fact that social achievements have eroded over the years. In his 29 years of life, Sébastien has experienced five pension reforms – 1993, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2014 – and perhaps another one this year, “It’s like unemployment. Our rights are constantly being belittled. We wonder what the point of contributing is if you’re never entitled to benefits? <> We keep seeing the starting retirement age increase.”
A young man, who works in real estate, is convinced the story won’t end there. He says, “By the time we have to retire, the age will be raised to 70 or even 75, given the current trend.”
Working past sixty seems like a utopia to 32-year-old Medi, “I work as a plumber, can you imagine me working until I’m 60? Have you ever seen a plumber at age 60? Not me. You get your back fixed by a 65-year-old physical therapist, don’t you? This nonsense must be stopped. This system is based on an illusion: if anyone wants us to work 43 years, but that’s utopia.”
