Pensions in France: the seven deadly sins[Les retraites en France face aux sept péchés capitaux]

Any observer of the French pension system can only make two observations. Firstly, it is an unstable system which, with the exception of a few pension schemes, has failed to adopt a form of governance and management that would allow it to adapt to changes without recourse to new legislation. As a result, we re-gularly see legislation introducing parametric reforms to the length of time people have to work to qualify for a full pension, the retirement age and contribution rates. Second, it is a system whose periodic reforms create considerable tension, particularly between the government and the unions. Each time, the opposition of the day, the vast majority of trade union organisations and a whole section of the population reject what is proposed. The fact that, when an opposition comes to power, it generally does not go back on the decisions taken by a previous majority does not change the fact that parametric reforms never reach a consensus. How can this situation be explained? It seems to us that the answer lies in the fact that France has committed, or is still committing, seven deadly sins when it comes to pensions. We know that these were identified by St Thomas Aquinas in the 12th century in the following order: pride, gluttony, lust, avarice, jealousy, anger and sloth. However, we feel it would be more educational to tackle them in a different order, starting with envy.