Macron insists pension reform is needed, despite protests

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron has written to labor unions insisting on the need to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 in order to make the French pension system financially sustainable in the coming years. The move comes after more than a million demonstrators marched in cities and towns across France this week. Train and metro drivers, refineries workers and others have started open-ended strikes against the centrist government’s plan. Unions called for more protests on Saturday. The bill is being debated at the Senate this week. Opinion polls consistently show a majority of the French oppose the change. Left-wing lawmakers argue companies and the wealthy should pitch in more to finance the pension system.