Macron Digs In as Hostility to French Pension Reform Mushrooms

  • Unions plan second day of strikes and protests on Tuesday
  • Some Macron allies express doubts as parliament debate begins
Demonstrators protest against government plans to revamp the pension system, in Paris.Photographer: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg
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Opposition to Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the retirement age is swelling, in a test of the French leader’s determination to pursue a signature step in his pro-business revamp of the French economy.

France’s president faced the biggest backlash yet on Jan. 19 when more than 1 million people joined marches across the country, and strikes closed many schools and crippled the rail network. His next major test comes Tuesday, when unions are betting a further shift in opinion in their favor will rally even more support for a second day of protests.