Macron says French will have to work more to maintain the same standard of living
French citizens will have to work more, French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview with France 2 television on Wednesday to receive their pensions in full and maintain their former standard of living.
A reporter for the channel asked what he would advise the French, who are worried about their declining purchasing power amid high inflation, to do.
“If we want to succeed, if we want progress, we have no choice but to start working more … Those who want to work more, we will exempt from paying taxes for overtime hours worked. We will continue and expand this policy. Those who want to work more will be able to get more,” Macron said.
According to him, it is necessary that young people start working earlier.
“We need to make sure that young people get into work more actively. If we compare with Germany, we see that the participation rate of young people in the labor market is very low. Also, the unemployment rate in France today is 7%, while in Germany it is less than 3%. We need to work longer, which is why we need pension reform,” the president said.
Macron noted that according to experts’ calculations, France will need 10 to 12 billion euros to finance pensions by 2027. Macron’s proposed pension reform project calls for a gradual increase in the retirement age from 62 to 65 by 2031.
“If we don’t carry out a pension reform, there will be two ways left to finance pensions: either we increase the pension contributions of working citizens, which will amount to an additional 400 euros a year, which will directly affect their purchasing power, or we simply reduce pensions,” Macron said.
“If we think sensibly, there is only one way left: since we are living longer, we have to work more. That we will work more is a question of demography,” he added.
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