Al Jazeera reported that the fight to put the bill into effect became the biggest challenge of Macron’s second term because of both the overwhelming public resistance to the revisions and his own declining personal popularity.
A specific contract for older workers as well as requiring large corporations to disclose the number of persons over 55 they employ were two of the nine minor ideas that were turned down in the discussion.
Earlier, the reforms were passed by parliament on March 16 after the government used a mechanism to bypass a vote by MPs, inflaming nationwide protests. They were considered adopted by parliament when the government survived two no-confidence motions on March 20.
According to France24, the reforms can only come into law once they are validated by the Constitutional Council, which has the power to strike out some or even all of the legislation if deemed out of step with the Constitution.
Protestors marched in cities and villages across France prior to the ruling, protesting President Emmanuel Macron’s unpopular proposal to increase the retirement age to 64.
The citizens of France have been a part of the months-long protest movement against the pension reform that has sent social tensions spiraling in France and Macron and his government refuses to give way.