Everyone knows, basically everyone knows, that pension reform is no longer an option, it is the only solution to keep pay-as-you-go. This beautiful French community is exceptional! Those who think they are united today by opposing are actually demonstrating the individualism of tomorrow by postponing necessary reforms until future generations.
The question of age is cause for concern and tension, as it causes every Frenchman to calculate a slightly further time away from their expected retirement date, which is questioning at best and despair at worst. Far from being the beginning and end of the debate, this retirement age issue must be the beginning of a reflection on what work means in our society and the place we reserve for it.
“Work Value”
The question should no longer be at what age to retire, but to be physically and mentally healthy and enjoy life! From then on, it is no longer a liberation, but a new stage.
Our conception of work has to be revisited, we are still living in the vision of the last century, and we can no longer reason about “productivity” as we did during the post-war boom. New expectations about work reflect changes in our society: new occupations, four-day work weeks, multiple occupations, disenfranchisement, equal pay, finding meaning, difficulty finding employment for older people, specific careers for women, lack of consideration for young people, Given the difficulty, fairer pay…
This project revolves around the “value of work,” which I prefer to call “the value of work,” the hope we can give to present and future generations. My parents’ generation believed that hard work, sacrifice, rising through the ranks, and time spent at the office were the main criteria for a successful life. My daughter, who is entering working life after the traumatic events of Covid, subscribes to the concept of wellbeing at work, balance between family life and professional life, and flexibility.
Are my parents wrong now?
Are my parents wrong now? Is my daughter ahead of everyone else? What if, instead of replaying the endless futile struggle of the ancients against the moderns, we calmly put these issues on the table in a dispassionate manner? What if, in our country, instead of confrontation, we were addressing these fundamental problems that affect our lives, we were looking for solutions for the future?
Once the necessary reforms in progress are passed, let us start this great national debate, the only way to overcome the cyclical divisions and reach these consensuses, about which our country sometimes keeps secrets: let us bring together all The power of dynamism: intermediaries, companies, employees, economists, sociologists, citizens, key witnesses…
We can only do this if we guarantee the financial balance of the pension system. This is why I support government reform, as it is the starting point for this new reflection I am calling for: the collective construction of the world of work in the 21st century!