Pension reform bill is passed in France

DESPITE MORE THAN a week of strikes and protests, France’s politicians have formally adopted President Sarkozy’s law on pension reform.

The National Assembly voted to change the pension age in the country to 62 from 60 by a margin of 336 to 233.

The President will now have to sign off on the bill and publish it in the official gazette, which is marked for around 15 November.

Undeterred, the public are calling for more strikes across more than 100 towns and cities, with a day for “family rallies” planned for 6 November – and the Socialist party have vowed to take the law before the Constitutional Court.

The proposed plan to change the pension age was met with some of the fiercest protests that Europe has seen since the beginning of the global financial crisis, however this week the strikes began to lose momentum.

Both houses of parliament have approved the bill.