Pensioners took to the streets of Paris and other French cities on Thursday to protest against extra health care tax that will affect their pensions. The plans were unveiled in this week's budget aimed at boosting purchasing power. But the elderly feel they’re losing out, reports RFI.
It's not every day you see hundreds of elderly French men and women ambling through cities across the country brandishing placards decrying the state. Let alone be watched over by riot police. But that was the scene of Thursday's protests.
Bernard, dressed in a raincoat and carrying a walking stick, says the government's extra healthcare tax will hit the poor the hardest.
"We're constantly being bled dry, our pensions haven't increased in four years. Personally, I don't mind paying a bit extra, but why is it always us? On the other hand, the wealth tax will be cut and the wealthiest will pay less and less."
Reforms to the wealth tax were unveiled in the government's budget on Wednesday.
Under the changes, profit from financial investments will be taxed at a flat rate of 30 percent, rather than under a progressive regime.
And properties worth less than 1.3 million euros will be exempt from the tax altogether, a gift likely to benefit France's wealthiest households.