French Senate votes raising retirement age to 64

FILE PHOTO: General view of the hemicycle as French Labour, Employment and Integration Minister Olivier Dussopt delivers a speech during a debate on French government's pension reform plan at the National Assembly in Paris, France, February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier

PARIS (Reuters) - French senators early on Thursday voted in favour of raising the legal retirement age to 64 from 62, a first win for President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform plans which have sparked protests and strikes across the country.

Two hundred and one members of the Senate, dominated by the conservative Les Republicains party, voted in favour of the reform's flagship article 7 on the retirement age, while 115 voted against it.