Macron VS French People over Pension Reform, Financial Times

French President Macron defied two-thirds of France’s Population with his current reforms of the pension system, the thing that made him less popular and drove him close to a “democratic deficit”, said British daily “Financial Times” on Sunday.
With his last move of using constitutional power and betting on surviving the No-Confidence Vote that will follow, he sentenced to death his chances of a second term as president, by losing the parliamentary majority.
The Financial Times predicted the 49.3 law will bypass parliamentary vote and the law will be passed. However, the price to pay is exponentially high and the consequences are already there: 10.000 tons of garbage is littering streets, and nuclear production was cut, with a strong possibility of resumption of the 2018 yellow-vested protests.
Macron failed to convince the French population and parliamentarians of his vision, especially the blue-collar workers, according to the newspaper.
Macron is right that France’s pay-as-you-go pension system has to be overhauled, and that more people must work to help fund public services. By 2050, the number of French seniors is predicted to rise to 21 million, and public debt will exceed 113% of the GDP.
The president’s measures will boost the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64, bringing it in line with its EU neighbors, and will require 43 years of service to qualify for a full pension.
Yet, Macron’s method of pushing a sound policy through makes little political sense, it said.