Presentation of France's pension reform bill is deferred to January

President Emmanuel Macron has announced that a bill outlining the government’s plans for pension reform will be presented on January 10 and not December 15 as originally planned.

The government has said that the decision to postpone was taken after discussion with the prime minister, Élisabeth Borne, and will enable the new leaders of Les Républicains and Europe Écologie - Les Verts to “exchange” with ministers on the bill’s contents.

Mr Macron announced this while opening the second plenary session of the Conseil national de la refondation – a body created this year with the aim of finding new ways of debating and innovating on the challenges France faces – at the Élysée Palace.

“Officially, it is not about getting past the Christmas period while avoiding a strike risk, but the state is preparing all the same for strikes in January,” a government source told BFMTV.

The bill is also being delayed because of opposition from unions, which have said that they have not had enough time to discuss the proposed law because of their internal elections.

From January 2, Ms Borne will launch a consultation with unions and in the run-up to this date, ministers will carry out interviews and meetings on the subject.

President Macron has previously said that he is looking to raise the French retirement age from 62 to 64 or 65 years of age.

During his reelection campaign, President Macron said that he would aim to put the retirement age at 65, but later said that he was “open” to having it at 64.

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