As many of you are probably already aware from watching the news, France is under going some serious riots. Looking at some of the pictures online, the first thing that comes to mind is the French revolution. Except this time, instead of bread the French have taken to the streets to protest The French Senate adopting new rules last Thursday to speed up voting on a controversial pension reform bill. Millions of French citizens are marching in outrage over how little money they will be receiving in there retirement pension plans. Thousands alone in Paris and many more have gathered in town squares across the country refusing to work until they feel that their needs have been met. “Lawmakers, trying to wade through more than 1,000 amendments -- many put up by opposition senators to try to derail the bill -- will group them together rather than voting on each one”, Labor Minister Eric Woerth announced. The controversy stems from the bill in question, which intends to raise the retirement age from sixty to sixty-two. This doesn’t seem terrible, but I would imagine that by the time you’ve reached sixty another two years would seem like an eternity. The demonstrations, which are being put on in high traffic areas are affecting everyone’s day-to-day life, and that’s the intended idea. The more the protesters can impede on everyone else the sooner they can get what they want. They simply have to make enough of an impact. I can’t fault them for that though; I can say that I’d probably empathize with them.
- M. Tilley
No comments:
Post a Comment