The French government is consulting unions and potential allies to see if it could get a highly unpopular pension reform adopted by a fragmented parliament without causing mass protests that could paralyse the country, reports Yahoo! News.
Details of the reform are expected to be unveiled on Dec. 15 but President Emmanuel Macron has made clear the French will have to work longer, with legal retirement age potentially pushed by as much as three years to 65.
Opinion polls show the vast majority of voters are against pushing back the retirement age. Labour unions, who met prime minister Élisabeth Borne on Thursday, told her they were against it.
"We told her she was taking a big risk, on the social front," said CGT lead negotiator Catherine Perret.
"The risk is that the pension reform will add to other topics of discontent, such as wages, the rise in the cost of energy ... and that it all becomes explosive."