France's prime minister said on Wednesday its people should work two years longer to get a full pension, drawing a hostile response from trade unions who said they would step up strike action to force an about-turn.
In a speech that followed days of
protests and industrial action, Edouard Philippe outlined an overhaul of France's byzantine pension system that he said would be fairer and plug a gaping deficit in the pension budget.
The legal retirement age would remain at 62, Philippe said, but workers would be encouraged to work until 64 through a system of bonuses and discounts.