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Young people in France, including those who are not yet working, protested today against the government's plans to increase the retirement age, AP reported, quoted by BTA.


Students and pupils have begun blocking access to some universities and high schools as part of national strikes and demonstrations against the pension reform being debated by parliament.

For a generation previously worried about inflation, uncertain job prospects and climate change, the pension reform bill raises new questions about the benefit of young people making an effort.

"I don't want to work all my life and end up drained," said a 15-year-old girl who participated in blocking the entrance to her high school with her classmates in a protest last month.

"It is important for us to show that our young people care about our future," she added.

The protests involved young people who have united against the pension reform since it was proposed in January.

However, student associations today demanded that more attention be paid to the fears of the younger generation.

President Emmanuel Macron wants to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 and make other changes he says are necessary to keep the public pension system financially stable as the population ages.

Macron has defended his pension reform as key to the French economy

Its opponents argue that wealthy taxpayers and companies should instead step up and pay more.

A twenty-three-year-old student who had participated in previous protests questioned the idea that hard work makes one happy.

"We should work less and have more free time," he says.

The youth and other protesters share the concern of older protesters that France is moving toward a system where instead of working to live, people will have to live to work.

Among the young demonstrators there are many supporters of the far-left party "Disobedient France", but also of other parties with different views.

According to them, it is a basic human right to be able to live on a state pension, and they perceive reform as a retreat from hard-won social benefits.