April 1 (Reuters) – A large majority of French people oppose raising the legal retirement age, according to an opinion poll published by the newspaper Les Echos, which could be a problem for President Emmanuel Macron, who has made it a key proposition as he seeks re-elections this month.

Macron has proposed to push back the legal age at which one can receive a full pension from 62 to 65 years old.

Marine Le Pen from the far right would bring it down to 60 for some workers and Jean-Luc Mélenchon from the far left for all. Conservative Valérie Pecresse and far-right Eric Zemmour, who are lower in the polls, would also make people leave later.

Macron has long been seen by opinion polls as on course for re-election, but the boost received for his active diplomacy on Ukraine has faded and Le Pen has closed the gap.

According to the survey, carried out from Monday to Wednesday, 70% of those questioned were opposed to raising the retirement age, half of whom were “very opposed”.

Instead, the Elabe poll, which assessed 1,531 people for the French daily Les Echos, Radio Classique and the Institut Montaigne, found that 63% of those questioned were in favor of raising taxes for the poorest households. rich in order to strengthen the pension system.

Macron, when he entered the election campaign late, said he would raise the retirement age, cut taxes and further ease labor market rules, seeking a mandate to continue pro-business reforms. Read more

Highlighting his pro-business credentials is not without risk as households feel the pressure of rising prices, but Macron said he wants to see through an overhaul of the economy.

Even if, as the polls still expect, Macron wins a second term, the issue of pension reform, which weighed on his first term, could pose a problem, given the scale of the opposition.

Reporting by Sarah Morland and Ingrid Melander; Editing by Nick Macfie

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