French Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, has offered to soften the planned retirement age reform in an attempt to win support from the conservative Republicans party in parliament.

The concession would allow people who entered work before the age of 21 to retire at 63, rather than the proposed new minimum pension age of 64.

The proposed changes are due to start being debated in parliament today (6 February), with French President, Emmanuel Macron, needing support from other parties to push the reforms through after his party lost its parliamentary majority at the last election.

Republicans party chief, Eric Ciotti, has hinted to the Parisien newspaper that his party would be willing to support the reforms if concessions, such as the earlier retirement age for those starting work early, were made.

Amid the debate in parliament, strike action is continuing across France, with further walkouts planned for tomorrow (7 February) and Saturday (11 February).

Two days of major nationwide strike action have already taken place, with estimates on the number of striking workers ranging from 1.3 million to 2.5 million.

Despite the industrial action, Borne has previously doubled down on the proposals to reform the minimum retirement age in France, describing the reforms as “non-negotiable”.

The proposed pension age reform process is scheduled to start in September, reaching 63 years and three months by 2027 and hitting the target age of 64 in 2030.

Alongside the raising of the retirement age, several other proposals were presented as part of the reforms.

The amount of time working needed to receive a full pension will rise from 42 years to 43 and a guaranteed minimum pension income will be introduced.

This income level will be set at no less than 85 per cent of minimum wage for new retirees.

Public sector workers in mentally or physically demanding jobs will keep the right to retire earlier than the wider workforce, but their retirement age will rise at the same rate.

The government also announced that differing retirement ages and pension benefits for certain workforces, such as rail workers, would end.

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