The French Senate passed the reform of the pension system with controversy and triggered a major strike in the country on March 11, and gradually increased the retirement age from 62 to 64.The reform is that with the aging population, the increasingly reduced young full -time workers are becoming more and more difficult to support retirees.Therefore, although the French public opinion did not agree with reform, the national strikes of the trade union were huge, and the French parliament still touched the scalp to promote the imperative reform.French problems are faced by all developed economies, but the window to solve the problem is quickly closed.
The French Senate in favor of 195 votes in the middle of the night on March 11, and 112 votes opposed to the reform bill, and will be reviewed by a joint committee of the Senate and the National Parliament (lower council) on March 15.If the committee reaches a consensus on the text of the bill, the two hospitals are expected to conduct final voting on March 16.Due to strong opposition from public opinion, the national strikes have been on the other hand, and whether the reform will be dead in the end of the day.However, not reform means that the pension system will eventually go bankrupt, and the consequences are bound to be more serious.In this sense, reform is undoubtedly the right decision.
The reason why thepension system must reform is mainly due to the aging of the French population structure.The 65 -year -old population in France has risen in the 1970s. In 1970, it accounted for 12.87%of the population, and in 2020, it had reached 20.22%.Coupled with the overall fertility rate of France, it has continued to decline since the 1960s, which led to a generation of infant tide born after World War II. The number of young people who were far exceeded that of descendants. When the infant tide generation retired, the retirement system faced the problem of incompetent.The overall fertility rate in France was 2.9 in 1960, once fell to the lowest 1.7 in the 1990s. After the government's encouragement of fertility policy stimulus, it rose slightly to 1.84 in 2021, but it was still lower than 2.1.
The aging of the low fertility rate is a common problem for all developed economies.Ironically, the overall fertility rate of France ranks first in the EU country, and the retirement age after reform is still lower than other Western European countries.In addition to excellent fertility benefits, the contribution of French fertility rate comes from relatively loose immigration policies.However, many new immigrants come from North Africa and the Middle East. They have different religious beliefs and living customs, bringing other social problems to France.
The poll found that most French people oppose the reform of the pension system. However, nearly 80 % believe that Congress will eventually show that the French people know that the consequences of not reforming are more serious despite their dissatisfaction.The sequelae of population aging are not limited to the bankruptcy of the pension. The aging and shortage of labor naturally attract immigration filling. The problem of illegal smuggling passengers has become increasingly serious. In addition to creating various social integration and public security issues, it also stimulates populism and ectopic emotions.Facing the problem of illegal immigration issues, the United Kingdom just signed an agreement with France on March 10 to fund France to establish an illegal immigration detention center and strengthen immigration law enforcement to reduce the smuggling to the United Kingdom north.
The stone of other mountains can be wrong. The French population crisis is an alarm bell against developed economies including Singapore.Due to various intricate factors, young people in developed economies are generally unwilling to marry and have a long -term downturn, which will inevitably lead to aging or even shrinking population. It must rely on immigration supplements.Political problems.Therefore, the low fertility rate is not simply an economic crisis, it is related to the health and future of a country and society.
The Singapore Provident Fund System puts retirement financial responsibilities in individuals, and thus avoiding the problem of pushing the pension system in other developed countries facing the threat of bankruptcy.However, Singapore's other social and political challenges brought by low fertility rates, including relying on immigrants to fill in labor shortages, and a large number of attachment problems arising from the arrival of a large number of immigrants.Of course, the way to treat the root cause is to raise fertility, but many years of experience shows that this knowledge is easy.The long -term danger of low fertility is that the aging of the population structure means less pregnant women, but they must have more babies to reverse the trend.The window of eliminating the opportunity to eliminate this vicious circle is quickly closed, and it will not be able to regret it.
