More than 300 leading figures from the French film and TV world have got behind a petition decrying controversial pension reforms spearheaded by the government of President Emmanuel Macron.
French stars Juliette Binoche, Audrey Fleurot, Camille Cottin, Swann Arlaud, Jeanne Balibar, Bérenice Béjo, Laure Calamy, Camille Cottin, Pierre Deladonchamps and Noémie Merlant; directors Michel Hazanavicius, Alice Diop, Kim Chapiron, Maimouna Doucouré, Robert Guédiguian and Alain Guiraudie, as well as producer Saïd Ben Saïd were among the signatories. “It is high time to make our voices heard, because cinema, theater, culture, even if they sometimes offer dreams and a means of escape, above all speak of our world,” read an open letter to Macron accompanying the petition.
The petition was launched under the banner of the Cinema Entertainment Collective on the Liberation newspaper website on Thursday afternoon, as a national strike brought public services to a standstill and saw outbreaks of violence across the country as demonstrators clashed with the country’s notoriously heavy-handed CRS riot police.
Under the reforms, the official retirement age in France is set to gradually rise by two years to 64 by 2030 while the period over which workers will need to make social security contributions will increase to 43 years from 42 years to draw a full state pension by 2027.
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