What's going on in France?

Is he still hot?

Yes? Okay then.

Macron is raising the pension age by 2 years, and the French see this as his sneaky way to pay for all the recent migrants rather than to improve the healthcare or living standards for the French.

They are really, really pissed. Also, they are world champions at vivid protests.

But yes, this time it's far more serious.

Zut alors, R2!!

Ce n'est rien, OP.

Aux barricades!

“We’ll sit and drink our wine while the world burns down around us!” That’s so French, and fair play to them.

I’m in the UK and they’ve consistently raised the retirement age, with no protest I’m aware of, alas. It went from 60 to now 66 and is due to go to 68. Fuck, before long there will be a huge increase in the number of geriatrics starting Onlyfans accounts.

I hope he makes it through this.

Can't they still retire early at 55 like most places?

Like which "most places", r8?

Like lots of places if you have an early retirement plan. Canada is one, I'm sure retirement at 55 must be possible in the US as well if you have pension eligibility based on age plus years of service.

r6 eh, people can be like that anywhere... albeit, we'd likely catch more hell if we admit to it.

It's like the first time you experience a robbery, maybe you react... 2nd, 3rd, fifth,, fifteenth time down the line, you find it more frustrating, like when you're on a lunch break and you're hoping this won't take you too long or they don't need you to make statements to the police after.

I had my own tales but you there's always pearl clutchers of some kind upset that you didn't bust into superhero mode and stop it or were so callous that all you could think about is finishing your lunch, continuing your conversation, albeit from minimal safety under a table and getting back to work.

In the US, few people have pensions:

These days, stable sources of income are rare for retirees, making a traditional pension a rare find. Unfortunately, only 10% of workers are currently covered by traditional pension plans (thirty years ago that number was closer to 60%).

I LOVE the fact that they're sitting in the cafe chatting over a glass or two of vin rouge while the world around them is literally burning.

That's true sang-froid. Respect!

The barking dog seems to be the only one who cares that the road is on fire.

Two people just sit there talking, and two other people move tables because of the inconvenient fire that was burning too close to their sidewalk table.

I fucking love it.

More importantly, how is Sesshie managing? The flames must be an impediment to his pilgrimage.

That looks quite comical, actually.

The French can just shut the fuck up. The retirement age in the rest of Europe is mostly in the 65 to 67 range, but they feel they're too good for 64. What makes them so fucking special?

A long history of entitlement, R16

One that’s impossible to maintain indefinitely.

I am still waiting to hear about this place where you can retire at 55. Even where it might be an option, I suspect the payments are a pittance, not any substantial portion of your salary. You certainly can’t get US Social Security then unless maybe some sort of disability.

Just because things are shitty elsewhere, R16 and R17, doesn't mean the French should have to give up their retirement age.

R18, you can retire at 55 in Canada. You can't collect CPP till age 60, but many company pensions allow for retirement at 55. I have friends who retired at 55 and their company pension is between $50-60, 000. Of course that's half their working salary, but they'll get topped up once they reach 60 and can are eligible for CPP. Teachers, government workers, people who work for federally regulated industries (like the airlines and the railway) are all examples where early retirement is a possibility.

[quote] I am still waiting to hear about this place where you can retire at 55. Even where it might be an option, I suspect the payments are a pittance, not any substantial portion of your salary.

In the US, most military members can retire after only 10 or 20 years of service. And with excellent benefits, too.

Free healthcare, and regular cost of living adjustments.

And they're not restricted from working at other jobs after retirement. Even if they're on disability retirement.

I know someone in his early 50's who came to work in my office at $65,000 per year.

He retired from the US military in his 40's, and now he's just bouncing from job to job just for an extra paycheck. He quit after about six months, and moved on to something else because he got bored.

He gets his pension from the military, plus his salary from whatever job he chooses to take from now until he dies.

I think that firemen and policemen in the US get to retire after only 20 years, as well. Regardless of age.

Fuck him. He took this action by himself. No referrndum.

This is a commonly used retirement calculator.

[Quote] A long history of entitlement

Interesting that emphasis of personal life over working until your fingers bleed for oligarchs is considered entitlement

[Quote] He gets his pension from the military, plus his salary from whatever job he chooses to take from now until he dies.

The military pension isn’t really all that much. It’s a percentage of “basic pay,” which is only one of many different types of “pay” that make up a salary, including housing pay, meals, location etc. one cannot even qualify for a pension until working 20 yard in the military. At 20 years, a pension is 50% of basic pay.

So the pension can be somewhere around $30-$50k per year. To live comfortable, you have to get another job, have saved separately, and also rely on Ss

^yards = years

[quote] At 20 years, a pension is 50% of basic pay.

[quote] So the pension can be somewhere around $30-$50k per year.

I could live on that SO easily.

I'm not extravagant or materialistic, so I would be very comfortable with a retirement like that.

Please stop talking in our name when you don't know anything about what's going on, R2. No one thinks this is about migrants.

This is about forcefully and unilaterally pushing this reform without even letting the national assembly vote on it. I don't care if it's constitutional, this is not a democratic process. And choosing to do so while there's already a crisis and a lot of people are struggling financially was such a dumb move.

There are also many other benefits to being former military, such as preference in federal employment. They frequently get jobs they are not qualified to perform, remain in these jobs (and receive contractor $upport to actually get anything done), and ultimately collect two pensions. Many are anti-government, even though every dime they receive comes from taxpayers.

R24, are you suggesting the French are all working their fingers to the bones for oligarchs? Because they're not.

OP's pic is like the most French photo I have ever seen. Fuck them for raising the retirement age.

I think 50 should be the retirement age. 30 years of hard work and roughly 20-30 years to enjoy the rest of your life as you see fit while still having some healthy/vitality left. Too many people set their hopes on doing what they want in their late 60's only to see (or actually not see) it ever happen. I still want to go on vacation while I have a good body and look hot in a speedo.

R16 You should read more about it, actually

[quote] I still want to go on vacation while I have a good body and look hot in a speedo.

R31, something tells me that time has passed.

R31, that’s great. How is it supposed to be paid for? You could confiscate every dime from the rich and it wouldn’t pay for this.

Of course, what R34 says is correct. R31 is a moron.

The rioting French are correct. Get rid of the Tax Havens and tax the rich fairly. We're talking about the wealthiest countries in the world. What's the point of being a wealthy country if the working stiffs have to work until they drop dead? The wealthiest countries in the world should have retirement at 60. Take the money back from the .1%. They are taking ALL the wealth.

The very rich are paying nothing. ZERO. And they are getting richer.

Paris is not beautiful now.

The retirement age is supposed to go down as humankind advances in knowledge.

Well, R38, they better get their shit together before I visit in May.

Political tactic meant to calm down mass protests against increasing retirement age by 2 years? France's Minister of labor and unemployment , Olivier Dussopt, just revealed he's gay.

Accused on social networks of instrumentalizing his "coming out" in the midst of political turmoil, Minister Olivier Dussopt replies: "The policy of diversion does not work"

Lol they don’t take coffee to go even if they’re in the line of fire

Désolé mais monsieur le ministre Dussopt n’est pas hot. Au suivant !

R39 Alas, we had a very forward thinking US president and they assassinated him.

If you are a government worker, you can still retire after 30 years of service in the same job in the US, right?

France’s government retirement programs (there are several) account for 14% of French GDP. In the US, Social Security is 5% of GDP.

As in the US, it’s funded by a combination of employer and employee contributions and like the US, those currently working fund the benefits of retirees. People in France live longer than Americans and, as in the US, that means the work force is supporting more retirees.

More benefits for more people collecting benefits for a longer period of time have to be paid for.

How?

How? TAX THE FUCKING RICH. PROGRESSIVE TAXATION.

You'd think this was brain surgery or theoretical physics. It's not.

Soaking the rich doesn’t work anymore. Money knows no boundaries and the rich can move it very easily.

Massachusetts voters just passed a 4% surtax on income in excess of $1 million dollars annually that went into effect as of January 1st, 2023. So far, approximately 1500 people subject to the tax have changed their residence to another state, most of them to Florida where there’s no state income tax. If they stayed in MA, they’d be paying 9%.

It’s estimated the Commonwealth will lose six million dollars a day in tax revenue as a result. Not to mention the charitable contributions that used to stay in Massachusetts because they went to MGH or the Symphony or the MSPCA are now going to Florida along with the jobs those people supported.

The rich can move their money as easily as their country of residence. It’s not like it’s brain surgery.

Paris is burning

Are they not scared of a fireball hurling right for that table? Gotta love the French

Macron's a BANKER. Never trust bankers.

Je survivrai!!!

It's over.

[quote]France's top constitutional body has cleared the raising of the state pension age from 62 to 64, and rejected calls for a referendum by political opponents.

[quote]But the Constitutional Council struck out some of the controversial reforms citing legal flaws.

Oooh la la!

This is happening