Nationwide protests ahead of final votes on French pension reform

• A joint commission of French senators and lower-house National Assembly deputies on Wednesday agreed on the government’s reform plan, including the text that raises the retirement age from 62 to 64.    
• Following the commission’s agreement, French President Emmanuel Macron met Wednesday evening with Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne and the main ministers involved with the pension reform plans at the Élysée Palace, the presidency said, on the eve of a potential vote to enact the plans in parliament. 
• Some 480,000 people marched in France on Wednesday to protest against the reform, including 37,000 in Paris, according to a count by the interior ministry. The CGT union counted some 1.78 million demonstrators across France, including 450,000 in Paris.  
• In addition to raising the retirement age, the government's plans also raise the requirements for a full pension and would abolish retirement privileges enjoyed by some public-sector employees. 
• Women activists say the pension reform would exacerbate gender inequalities at work, adding that women's pensions are on average 40 percent lower than men's.   
• Opinion polls show that around two-thirds of French people are against the legislation. 

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(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)