Seems Macron’s popularity has waned.

F. Hollande, a socialiste, tried to do the same thing not long ago and gave up.
Macron, from La Republique en Marche, tries to do the same thing and has failed up to now.
I agree with Maizie that it's connected to the financial principles of the EU.
When we lived in France we always sympathised with the farmers in our Dept. Trying to make a living on the small farms gifted to them after the french revolution . They were denied some subsidies because just outside the mountainous area of the Pyrenees.

Obviously there is resistance to raising the pension age ( unlike here when it was done stealthily but by bit, and people didn’t realise it was happening). Train drivers used to die by 60 in the days of steam which is why their pension age was low, but they have still kept the same pension age! Which is irrational, and Macron is trying to rationalise the system which makes sense unless you feel you will be disadvantaged, which accounts for the strikes. Obviously right wingers in this country will blame the EU, even though it is an internal French domestic matter, which has nothing to do with EU rules. French papers don’t tend to print news of U.K. internal arguments or demos so I’m not surprised our papers don’t print much about French ones.

It's not unreasonable to try to rationalise the pension system. It does seem odd to have such widely varying retirement ages. Balancing the books must be a nightmare.
One of the Grans used to keep us posted on the latest activities of the 'gilets jaunes'. It's interesting to hear a perspective from a French resident.

I suspect that Macron's problems stem from the fact that France is in the euro and the euro is controlled by the neo-liberal economic fallacy that countries must never run deficits, so deficits must be controlled by austerity policies, i.e cuts to public expenditure. This has the most adverse effects on the less well off. Until the economic policies change (if they ever do) all the eurozone countries running deficits will have problems.

I felt he was going to have problems with this right from the start.

The French, as is frequently noted, are very good at making their feelings felt...

While Macron’s finance-manager’s-eye view of France’s pensions problem may be favored by his upper-middle-class supporters, some intellectuals and analysts - it decidedly is not by workers and their union leaders. It’s these individual regimes — fought for tooth-and-nail over the years by the different working groups, and jealously guarded as embodying rights, not privileges — that are at issue.

Macron wants to do away with them. To the strikers it boils down to a simple, historical French confrontation: haves versus have-nots, rich against poor, the protected against the exposed — with frustrated travelers and weary commuters caught in the middle!

You bet they would! suziewoozie

Macron had limited support from the beginning. A lot of the things he is trying to do are really necessary for the economy to improve. French people generally do not like the status quo to change despite what may be happening in the rest of the world. It must be borne in mind also that France is one of the highest taxed countries in Europe.

I wonder if MSM would be reporting if he were left wing?

I didn’t realise it was this bad Grany but as GG13 says if it’s not being reported upon ...

I also didn’t realise he was the ‘least bad option* sooziewoozie I thought he rode in on a tide of optimism!

Initially public support for striking union members was high. But strikes have affected transportation more than any other sector.

Apparently, train transport is at the heart of French life, and the strike is now in its sixth week. Reduced train service has cut the provinces off from Paris, and the subway’s virtual absence in the capital has cost millions in lost sales.

What a mess!

And 1200 French doctors joined the nation wide protests and resigned this week.

They copy the lawyers by throwing down their white doctors coats in a pile and marching out.

#Macron is losing control!

Not reported on UK TV.

#greve18janvier
#GiletsJaunes

It is a constant amazement to me that the msm in U.K. (and the rest of the EU as far as I can make out) is turning a blind eye to the situation in France.

No mention of the multiple vehicle arsons over New Year, the unrest in France is being swept under the carpet....why?

He’s been unpopular for a long time - many people voted for him initially because he was the least worst option by a country mile.