French Senate passes pension reform bill
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After long protracted debate, French upper house of parliament adopted Friday night the highly controversial pension reform to raise minimum retirement age from 60 to 62.
After three weeks of rows between the ruling party UMP-led right-wing senator and the Socialist Party-represented left-wing power, 177 voted for the bill against 153 protesting ballots.
The Senate vote has been delayed due to numerous amendments that reports called as opposition tactics to prolong tedious debate in the upper house.
The lawmaker has spent 140 hours on discussing the bill, a new record in the Senate since 1986.
President Nicolas Sarkozy ordered Thursday the Senate to take " unique vote" over a package of amendments instead of one vote on each, in order to shorten the path for the bill to become law.
However, despite the final adoption by the Senate, the abundant adjustment succeeded in making the pension reform bill a u-turn to the National Assembly for new consultations before taking effect.
The most important clause of the bill, which also attracts fiercest outcry, are to raise legal minimum retirement age from 60 to 62 in 2018 and full pension age regardless contribution period from 65 to 67.
The National Assembly has passed the pre-revised bill on Sept. 15, which was followed by waves of protesting strikes not only paralyzing public transport but also brought nationwide fuel shortage to the Europe's second economic power.
Also on Friday, labor unions backed by opposition parties announced that they will continue fight with further protesting strikes and demonstrations on Oct. 28 and Nov. 6.
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