French presidential hopeful Philippe proposes pushing retirement age to 65

French presidential hopeful Edouard Philippe has proposed a plan to gradually increase the country's legal retirement age from 64 to 65 for most workers, as part of his pensions reform proposal unveiled on Tuesday. Philippe, a center-right former prime minister, unveiled the plan in a nearly 20-minute video, stating that reforming the country's generous pension system is crucial due to France's worsening fiscal outlook.

Philippe emphasized the need to take decisive action to prevent an impending financial crisis, noting that all European countries, regardless of governing party, have implemented similar reforms. The proposal also includes gradually introducing capitalization into the system, where a worker's contributions are invested for their future retirement.

Philippe aims to increase monthly contributions from 43 to 45 years. Although Philippe's plan aligns with his image as a fiscally responsible candidate, the issue of retirement reform is highly contentious in French politics. The 2023 retirement age increase, which raised the age to 64 for most workers, sparked massive protests and led to the delay of implementation until after the presidential election to prevent a government collapse.

Philippe faces stiff competition in his campaign, with far-right leader Marine Le Pen advocating for a retirement age of 62, costing an estimated €9 billion per year, and far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon pushing for the retirement age to return to 60. Recent polls indicate that Mélenchon is leading Philippe for the second place in the runoff against Le Pen.

To alleviate the blow of the proposed retirement age increase, Philippe pledged that one in three French citizens would be able to retire early under his plan due to physically demanding jobs.