This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 93%. (I'm a bot)

> Like many others in this sleepy town of under 15,000, Patrick said protests against the government's planned pension overhaul would need to "Harden" to have any chance of succeeding.

> Nestled in a rural region roughly 120 kilometres south of Paris, Montargis has witnessed its biggest rallies in living memory since the start of an increasingly bitter battle over pension reform, with the number of protesters peaking at around 4,000 - equivalent to almost a third of the local population - on March 7.

> She described the rallies against pension reform as a "New phenomenon" in a region unaccustomed to street protests.

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How do people expect to maintain a retirement system set in the 60s and expanded in the 80s when the ratio or workers to retirees has drastically changed due to population aging? France already has one of the highest taxation rate in the world, and its middle class doesn't have much fiscal juice left to be squeezed. The rich and corporations can evade taxes easily, and good luck trying to modify the EU treaties that allows them to do so. So what gives?

Just because you don't understand or « don’t know how to expect » doesn't mean you're right and your point valid.

If afterwards, you tell me that the opinion of the majority (aka democracy) of the population does not interest you... that's another story.

Jesus, I agree with both of your points. Keep talking.

They don't care. The same problem hits South American governments and tends to just collapse the economy.

Time is priceless. If it were me, I'd rather have my taxes go up than have 5 years of my retirement taken away from me. And I'd definitely rather see the taxes of people who are clutching their pearls over affording a 4th house go up.

If the rich can evade taxes so easily, that's the problem the government should be trying to solve. How is it fair to just throw up your hands and say "sorry everyone but we've tried nothing to tax corporations and we're all out of ideas, so you'll be retiring 5 years later than you thought."

But we all know why they're putting the burden on the middle and lower classes, and they know too. Which is why they're rightfully protesting.

After France beats people into submission they’ll just keep raising retirement age

Best of luck

Does anyone know if protestors or protest organisers can be charged assuming they don't do anything illegal?

In France, no they can't. We have a right to strike.

Maybe if they taxed the rich instead of giving them tax breaks there’d be more budget for pensions and to support the actual hard working people.