PARIS—French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Wednesday refused to drop plans to the raise the retirement age to 62 years old from 60, despite protests and nationwide strikes against a pension overhaul, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The pension reform was "crucial," he said, according to the text of a speech during a cabinet meeting. Mr. Sarkozy said that he understood the plan could raise concerns and that he was "attentive" to protesters' worries.
Raising the retirement age to 62 by 2018 was unavoidable because France's pension-scheme deficit needed to be financed, Mr. Sarkozy said. He stressed that he had refused other solutions to fund the deficit, such as increasing taxes or cutting pension payments.
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