The French Constitutional Council has delivered its opinion on the government's pension reform legislation. The council has largely approved the legislation, in particular it gave its approval to President Macron's highly controversial increase in the pension age from 62 to 64. Six provisions of the legislation were challenged by the Council, including the so called "senior index". In a separate decision, the council rejected opponents' bid for a referendum.
Meanwhile, industrial action has continued in some areas of France after yesterday's day of action against the government's pension reforms. Protestors blocked the port of Marseille today. Some employees at Air France in Marseille went on strike for one hour this morning while an operation escargot took place on roads around the airport. The government said that in total, across France, 380,000 people took to the streets yesterday but unions put the number at 1.5 million, figures which are lower than the past few days of protest. Reports say that President Macron is expected to make a speech on the subject of the pension reforms within the next few days.
French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has confirmed that the minimum wage will rise by "a little more than 2%" on 1 May. She called on French businesses to re-negotiate salaries to help employees with purchasing power in the face of inflation. The Prime Minister was speaking during a visit to a supermarket in the Centre-Val de Loire region today. At one point she was confronted by demonstrators chanting "49.3 we don't want it", a reference to the article
