PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron won a highly anticipated ruling on his plan to raise the retirement age, giving the French president a boost in his attempt to turn the page on an episode that has left him deeply unpopular.
France’s Constitutional Council, made up chiefly of former politicians and senior civil servants, approved the core elements of the law in their decision, including the key contested provision that would increase the minimum retirement age by two years to 64.
While the green light from the court is a source of relief for Macron, he still faces deep opposition to the pension reform. Labor unions have remained unusually united through the protests with opinion polls showing a majority of French people oppose raising the retirement age and support the strikes that started in January.
