How the French state pension is set to spark Macron's downfall...
Protests erupted in France last year over Macron's pension reform
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As France holds its first round of the snap legislative elections on Sunday, Emmanuel Macron's pension reforms could spell trouble for the President.
Macron called the snap parliamentary election after his party was projected to lose heavily in the European elections to the hard-right National Rally (NR).
Recent polling puts NR ahead on 37 points, the left-wing New Popular Front on 29 points and Macron's centrist coalition Ensemble trailing on 21 points.
Last year, Macron signed into law his government's highly unpopular pension reform, which raised the state pension age from 62 to 64.
Emmanuel Macron called a snap national election earlier this month
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The proposals will see the age rise by 2030, and citizens will need to have worked for 43 years (up from 42) to receive the full state pension.
His decision was met with bitter opposition from political opponents, unions and the French public.
Protestors took to the streets to demand the policy be reversed and to improve the economic conditions more generally.
The president argued that raising the retirement age was the only way to maintain the state pension as the retired population grows.
French people took to the streets to protest the pension reforms GettyAlex Everett, European investment manager at abrdn said: "The pensions issue is a lightning rod for angry voters.
"This is quite possibly the issue that brings Macron down."
The French state pension averages around €1,500 (£1,266) a month and has one of the lowest retirement ages in Europe.
In the UK, British workers have reluctantly accepted a state pension age of 66, which is set to increase to 67 by 2026.
According to research from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, French pensioners receive around 75 per cent of their pre-retirement earnings.
Jordan Bardella, President of France's far-right Rassemblement National previously stated he would overhaul Macron's pension reforms
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In contrast, British retirees only receive 58 per cent and the average across the European Union is 68 per cent.
But Macron has paid the price for pushing through the reforms in France, according to George Moran, European economist at Nomura.
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Moran said: “The pensions issue has had a permanent scarring effect upon him.
“Macron got elected on this policy. But actually pushing it through has been a turning point in his political fortunes.”
Meanwhile, the president of RN, Jordan Bardella, had vowed to overhaul Macron's pension reforms if he managed to become prime minister.
But more recently Bardella dialled down his enthusiasm commenting "We'll see" when asked about the policy earlier this month.
“Economically, I’m reasonable,” the 28-year-old leader said.
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