French pension reform talks fail as projections show deficit to keep growing • FRANCE 24 English

time now to catch up with the latest business news with Charles Pelan We start here in France where a political crisis is brewing over the fate of the country’s pension system Not the first time Charles
That’s right Eve Prime Minister Fa facing a no confidence vote from socialist MPs after monthslong talks between unions and employers supposed to lead to changes to the pension system ended in failure on Monday For five months the two sides tried to agree on changes to the controversial 2023 pension reform passed through parliament without a vote and which gradually raises the legal retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2032 It also allowed uh for retirees to benefit from a full pension after having contributed for 43 years of work from 2027 onwards While this reform was supposed to help bring the systems finances back in order as France’s population got older meaning that more people were taking money will be taking money out of the system for pensions and fewer people will be contributing money to the system by being in the workforce So what is the financial picture looking at right now Well the 2020 reform’s effects were short-lived and France’s highest auditing institution the Kon showed in a report earlier this year that the pension systems deficit would keep growing meaning that more money would be exiting its coffers than entering them The deficit this year is expected to reach 6.6 billion e and grow to 15 billion e by 2035 and then to 30 billion euros by 2045 if current conditions don’t change So what happened during the most recent talks Was there any progress
Well unions and employers unions who ended the discussion had reached a a begrudging consensus on the idea of legal retirement age at 64 They’d also found an agreement to improve the pensions of working mothers depending on the number of children they had allowing them to leave the workforce earlier But the sticking points were more prevalent especially in when it came for unions to defend workers with physically taxing jobs and making sure they could retire earlier as well The employers however disagreed with the conditions put forward by the unions that would allow such an early retirement to take place saying that it could apply to as much as 40% of the workforce Well Prime Minister Fono Beeru is hoping to pick up talks where they stopped and he believes that while the way to a compromise compromise is very narrow it still exists
Okay let’s move on and take a look at the stock markets John
after gains on Tuesday on the back of that ceasefire between Iran and Israel we’re seeing moderate gains this Wednesday as investors are weighing whether that ceasefire deal will hold keeping in mind any uh risks to global oil supply Investors also paid close attention to remarks by US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday The central banker saying he was committed to keeping inflation in check and would likely keep rates steady until more clarity emerges Take a listen The effects of tariffs will depend among other things on their ultimate level Expectations of that level and thus of the related economic effects reached a peak in April and have since declined Even so increases in tariffs this year are likely to push up price uh prices and weigh on economic activity The effects on inflation could be short-lived reflecting a one-time shift in the price level It’s also possible that the inflationary effects could instead be more persistent
Okay Well let’s end with a long simmering border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia which has erupted into a fullblown diplomatic row late last month after the uh death of a Cambodian soldier And tension has been a boiling point ever since Over three weeks on neither side has been able to deescalate the situation and Thailand has now closed almost all of its land crossings with its neighbor as concern mounts over the impact to two long interconnected economies Luke Shrego has more At a Thai border crossing with Cambodia confusion and resignation as tourists and workers find themselves stranded after Bangkok shut down almost all its land crossings with its neighbor with Penon Pen doing the same Usually I sleep on the Thai side and try to come back to Cambodia every week I’ve been at the closed border gate since 6:00 in the morning There were a lot of people before but not so many now It’s a major blow for the roughly 1 million legal and illegal Cambodian workers living in Thailand not to mention over 4.7 billion euros worth of Thai exports to Cambodia However neither country has been able to reach a peaceful resolution after a territorial dispute reaching back decades erupted in late May with the death of a Cambodian soldier and both sides have escalated ever since Cambodia has halted fuel imports from Thailand 30% of its total such imports as well as blocking electricity and banning Thai fruit and vegetables Bangkok reacted in turn announcing moves to target online scam operations over the border
The government will also introduce more stringent measures including suspending internet service and the export of goods that support the activities of transnational criminal networks Thai Prime Minister Pton Shinawat 2 has been swept up in the matter Accused of appeasing Pon Pen after a telephone call leaked she now faces calls to step down Okay Charles thanks a lot for that business update

French Prime Minister François Bayrou will face a no-confidence vote from Socialist MPs after talks between unions and employers over a reform of the country’s pension system failed to reach a compromise. France’s highest auditing authority earlier showed that the pension system could run a deficit of as much as €30 billion by 2045 if nothing is changed. Also in this edition, FRANCE 24’s Luke Shrago looks at the economic impact of the border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia.
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