Protests against the pension reform: opinions of the French in 2020| ��ƽ��

Do you support the protest movement against the pension reform?*

Characteristic	You support him	You have sympathy for him	You are indifferent to it	You are opposed to it	You are hostile to it
November 28-29, 2019	27%	19%	21%	18%	15%
December 3-4, 2019	36%	20%	15%	16%	13%
December 12-13, 2019	34%	20%	16%	17%	13%
December 19-20, 2019	31%	20%	15%	19%	15%
January 2-3, 2020	25%	19%	19%	18%	19%
January 7-8, 2020	28%	19%	18%	21%	14%
January 9-10, 2020	30%	19%	17%	19%	15%
January 14-15, 2020	31%	19%	18%	18%	14%
January 16-17, 2020	29%	22%	16%	19%	14%

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Release date

January 2020

More information

Region

France

Survey time period

January 16 - 17, 2020

Number of respondents

1,006 respondents

Age group

18 years and older

Method of interview

Computer-assisted web interviews (CAWI)

Supplementary notes

* The question was posed by the source as follows: "You know that the main trade union and youth organizations will launch a mobilization and a strike on December 5, particularly in transportation, to protest against the pension reform announced by the government. What is your attitude towards this movement?"

Citation formats

In order to oppose the pension reform project led by President Emmanuel Macron and his government, several trade union and youth organizations have, since December 5, 2019, called on the French people to mobilize and invited them to participate in a general and national strike.
This statistic shows the opinion of the French between late November 2019 and January 2020 regarding the legitimacy of this national strike. It turns out that 51 percent (four points higher than at the end of November) supported or sympathized with this movement, compared to 33 percent who were opposed or hostile.

The pension system in France

Considered complex, the French pension system is one of the few based on the pay-as-you-go principle: relying on solidarity between generations, active workers pay monthly contributions to pension funds which redistribute them to current retirees.
The mandatory scheme combines two types of pensions (the basic pension and the supplementary pension).
The government of Édouard Philippe intends to reform this system, notably by implementing a points-based basic scheme (modeled on the supplementary pension) in which the pension amount would be calculated based on points accumulated during the professional life. Furthermore, special schemes would be abolished in favor of a universal pension scheme.
However, 63 percent of the French do not trust Emmanuel Macron to reform the pensions.

Emmanuel Macron and the opposition

Although he is not the only president of the Fifth Republic to have faced growing unrest, Mr. Macron could well be the French head of state who has witnessed some of the most violent and prolonged protests. The Yellow Vests movement, although it dwindled over the months, lasted for eight consecutive months.
In addition to a popularity rating below 50 percent, 76 percent of the French find his policies unfair and 67 percent believe that elected officials are detached from the concerns of the French people.
Yet, these concerns are numerous: declining purchasing power, unemployment, insecurity, lack of resources in public hospitals, climate crisis... France is plagued by many tensions that the government struggles to calm.