The protesters were not marching against pension reform. They were protesting against the cost of living and the state of French schools.
The two issues are linked. France has not balanced a budget since the 1970s. A state that will not reform its largest expense, pensions, must squeeze everything else instead.
New Zealand faces a similar problem in a milder form. Treasury warns that, on current settings, NZ Super could cost 8 percent of GDP by 2065, up from about 5 percent today. It already absorbs one dollar in every six the government spends. Unless revenue grows to match, it would absorb one in four.
The events in France are a stark reminder of the cost of delay. Every year of delay makes reform more painful.
Recent French governments have at least tried. Macron's first prime minister, Édouard Philippe, tried in 2019–2020 to merge France's staggering 42 pension schemes into a single system.
The bill passed its first reading only by bypassing a vote in parliament, before the covid crisis shelved it. In 2023, another prime minister, Élisabeth Borne, used the same approach to raise the retirement age to 64, despite mass protests.
A later prime minister, Michel Barnier, was forced out of office over the social security budget crisis. François Bayrou, in turn, failed to renegotiate the reform and then lost a confidence vote.
Today's hapless prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, owes his survival largely to suspending the increase in the pension age in October 2025. As a result, the French will retire at 62 years and nine months until 2028. Meanwhile, across the European Union, 67 is becoming the norm. In some countries it is higher.
Fortunately, New Zealand is not France. Our public debt is far lower, and our political system is much nimbler than the Fifth Republic. But lifting the NZ Super age from 65 to 67 is nonetheless needed.
We say in French, qui n'avance pas recule (whoever does not move forward moves backward). France's riots are a reminder that stagnation can lead to regression and disorder.
Reforms work best when the need for them is recognised early, adopted gradually and not carelessly abandoned. Unlike France, New Zealand still has time.
Dr Nathan Peres is a Senior Fellow at The New Zealand Initiative focusing on geopolitical risk, economic security and the impact of international developments on New Zealand. This article was sourced HERE
New Zealand faces a similar problem in a milder form. Treasury warns that, on current settings, NZ Super could cost 8 percent of GDP by 2065, up from about 5 percent today. It already absorbs one dollar in every six the government spends. Unless revenue grows to match, it would absorb one in four.
The events in France are a stark reminder of the cost of delay. Every year of delay makes reform more painful.
Recent French governments have at least tried. Macron's first prime minister, Édouard Philippe, tried in 2019–2020 to merge France's staggering 42 pension schemes into a single system.
The bill passed its first reading only by bypassing a vote in parliament, before the covid crisis shelved it. In 2023, another prime minister, Élisabeth Borne, used the same approach to raise the retirement age to 64, despite mass protests.
A later prime minister, Michel Barnier, was forced out of office over the social security budget crisis. François Bayrou, in turn, failed to renegotiate the reform and then lost a confidence vote.
Today's hapless prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, owes his survival largely to suspending the increase in the pension age in October 2025. As a result, the French will retire at 62 years and nine months until 2028. Meanwhile, across the European Union, 67 is becoming the norm. In some countries it is higher.
Fortunately, New Zealand is not France. Our public debt is far lower, and our political system is much nimbler than the Fifth Republic. But lifting the NZ Super age from 65 to 67 is nonetheless needed.
We say in French, qui n'avance pas recule (whoever does not move forward moves backward). France's riots are a reminder that stagnation can lead to regression and disorder.
Reforms work best when the need for them is recognised early, adopted gradually and not carelessly abandoned. Unlike France, New Zealand still has time.
Dr Nathan Peres is a Senior Fellow at The New Zealand Initiative focusing on geopolitical risk, economic security and the impact of international developments on New Zealand. This article was sourced HERE
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