Why France is arguing about work, and the right to be lazy

“MACRON, TAKE your retirement, not ours!” read one placard at a recent protest march. “Metro, work, grave”, read another, on a more existential note. On February 7th yet more demonstrators took to the streets to protest against President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to from 62 years to 64. The turnout was not as high as at two previous strike days in January. But all trade unions back further strikes. Most opposition parties, and a majority of the French, are also resolutely .The legislation, which went to parliament on February 6th, has not only divided the country but prompted a dialogue of the deaf. The government says the reform is “indispensable” if the pension regime is to balance its books, and France is to preserve its generous pensions, at a time when people are living nearly a decade longer than they did in 1980. Opponents accuse the government of brutally dismantling the hard-won rights of a modern welfare state.