Pension strike in France is wrong

More than a million French took to the streets on Tuesday to protest the government's plans to raise the retirement age  to 62. Yet compared to other European countries the French retire early, the left-liberal daily De Volkskrant stresses, noting that the civil servants and employees "are showing little realism. The reform of the generous French pension system is inevitable because the average age is increasing and people are drawing their pensions for longer periods. To reduce the state's massive debts and curb state expenditure the government has no alternative but to save 100 billion in the next three years. It is only fair that France's pension system, which is expensive in a European comparison, should be affected by the cuts. The government in Paris has called on the people to show 'courage' while it tries to restore financial order in the country. By blocking public transport and closing schools the strikers may have shown their willingness to fight, but they didn't show courage."

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