Paris
Tens of thousands of French marched through dozens of cities this week to demand no change in the country’s generous pension policy. Since France has a low birth rate and most people retire before they’re 58, soon there won’t be enough taxpayers to cover the 75 percent of salary each pensioner is promised. So Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin has proposed gradually abandoning the pay-as-you-go system and switching to a system of personal accounts. “It will not be a question of brutally changing the rules of the game overnight,” Raffarin promised. Protesters were having none of it. “Raffarin wants us to work until we’re dead,” said one typical banner.
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