Maeve Higgins: Retirement age has become a taxing and vexing issue

Protestors in France are fighting for much more than a number in their demonstrations against President Emmanuel Macron's bill raising the legal retirement age. It's about the level of respect society has for labour and fairness

Protesters in Strasbourg, France, on Thursday where French unions held their first mass demonstrations since President Emmanuel Macron forced a higher retirement age through parliament without a vote. Photo: AP/Jean-Francois Badias

PENSIONS are not usually considered an exciting topic of conversation. Drone on about contribution fees, risk management, and lump sums for long enough, and in ordinary times, your companion would back away.

Well, these are not ordinary times, particularly not in France. Protests, some of them numbering over one million people out on the streets, have rocked French cities after parliament adopted an embattled bill raising the legal retirement age from 62 to 64, pushed through by President Emmanuel Macron.