I know I’m running a country right when all my constituents are so pissed off that they take to the streets in mass protests and strikes.

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 88%. (I'm a bot)

> Paris - France braced Monday for another day of mass protests and strikes over proposed pension reforms championed by President Emmanuel Macron, with the government and its left-wing opponents trading blame for the expected disruption.

> With unions warning more stoppages are to come, the strikes represent a major test for Macron as he seeks to implement a showcase policy of his second term in office.

> Senior hard-left MP Mathilde Panot from the France Unbowed party accused Macron and his ministers of being responsible for the stoppages that are to cripple public transport and other services.

Extended Summary | FAQ | Feedback | Top keywords: Macron^#1 pension^#2 services^#3 France^#4 told^#5

Why won't he just drop it?

What's the alternative? The country is aging, there are less people of working age. Something has to be done to reform the pensions system.

Immigrants, reduce pension payout, etc

If you are concerned about the economy these strikes are also terrible.

If Le Pen wasn’t a Russian stooge we would’ve been rid of this idiot

I want them to succeed, but not only for the main reason they want to succeed. I want them to succeed, because it will have a big impact on russians. Putin lied about many things, but the biggest lie, that his loyal older electorate even now can not forgive him, ir raising retirement age. He specifically promised not to, and then did it. Official russian media try not to cover such news, but russians on social forums actively discuss, and make comparisons. One of Putin's slogans is "you want to live like people live in rotting west?" And the next time he asks that, I want more russian people to reply "yes, we totally do!".

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>reduce pension payout,

Doesn't really help. In the end the government has to pay for its citizens's living expenses (rent, food, energy etc).

It's not like governments have 1000 ways to raise money... Just a random idea: make weed legal and put a tax on it where the money goes specifically to the retirement fund.

Now to be more serious, Macron just lifted a corporate tax and that amount is more or less what will be missing for the retirement fund in the coming years. So you could just roll back and avoid creating the problem in the first place. We just reached full employment in France (below 5%), companies don't need to have tax relieves right now. Keep that for a time when large corporations don't register humongous yearly profits. Just common sense at this point.

You tax the rich more and stop putting it on the working class. The money is there, they’re just stealing it from the wrong people.

Because the best option is to tax more the rich to get what the pension cost. He is a former Rothschild investment banker, so he does not want to upset his friends.

That's just how the French roll.

You do know how social security works, right?

Unless your population keeps having a lot of kids, you'll have to make them work more to guarantee the pension, so the system doesn't collapse on itself.

Immigrants