French President Emmanuel Macron has decided not to push for raising the retirement age to 65 in next year's budget bill, scrapping an idea that has angered unions and split his centrist alliance, the Financial Times reported.

The move shows how Macron is forced to fight a much stronger opposition in his second term in office after his party lost its majority in parliament in June.

Marine Le Pen's far-right party and the left-leaning Alliance led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon oppose raising the retirement age, so Macron will need to find allies in the center if he wants this reform to pass.

Prime Minister Elizabeth Bourne told AFP earlier Thursday that the government would begin talks with unions, employers and other political parties with a view to passing the law in the coming months.

The government in France wants to raise the retirement age

Overall, the government still wants to raise the retirement age to 65 from the current 62, which was one of Macron's campaign promises, which he saw as key to improving France's public finances.

"We chose dialogue and consultation," Bourne said.

The retreat from that idea comes as the hard-left CGT union holds a day of national strike action on Thursday to protest pension reform and call for higher wages amid a cost-of-living crisis.

CGT chief Philippe Martinez told France 2 television that the union would continue the pressure: "For us, this is a starting point for a direction."

France

Retirement age