It’s the time for opening moves, shows of strength, and warning shots as France prepares for another winter of debate (and social conflict) over its pension system. One of the main planks of his reelection campaign earlier this year, president Emmanuel Macron wants France’s parliament to pass in the coming months an increase of the retirement age to sixty-five, from the current level of sixty-two. If all goes according to the president’s plans, beginning next summer the retirement age would begin to gradually rise over the next decade, coupled with the installment of a new pension floor of €1,100 euros per month for a full career, below the official minimum wage of roughly €1,300.

Macron’s new move to reform the retirement system is shaping up to be a key early battle of his second term. It will be the second such effort from the current French president, whose first attempt to alter pension rights in late 2019 resulted in an extended wave of strikes before being ultimately suspended with the beginning of the COVID lockdowns.

The new bill — and details about possible profession-specific exemptions — has yet to be fully presented. But the blueprint of the plan has attracted the ire of opposition forces in parliament and the country’s unions. On September 29, several hundred protests and work-stoppages took place across the country. This concerted action was initially meant to demand more aggressive action against a rising cost of living — but then morphed into an early front of opposition against the pension reform. In Paris, tens of thousands of protesters joined a march called by the Confédération Générale du Travail (CGT) and other trade unions.