PARIS, Sept 29 (Reuters) - French centre-right presidential candidate Edouard Philippe proposed on Tuesday raising the retirement age to 65 and making private pension savings compulsory, tackling one of France's most politically explosive issues.
Pension reform is highly sensitive in France, where workers rely on a public, pay-as-you-go system funded by current contributions, and private retirement savings remain voluntary and limited.
With one of the lowest retirement ages in advanced countries at 62.9 years, France's pension system is sliding into deficit as the population ages, making reform a major battleground in the April-May 2027 presidential election.
To restore balance, Philippe said he would raise the retirement age to 65 within a decade and extend required contributions to 45 years, up from 42.5 to 43 years currently, depending on date of birth.
Some exceptions would apply for people with physically demanding jobs or who started working particularly young, meaning one out of three workers would be able to retire between 60 and 64.
"I am well aware that saying people need to work longer is not very popular in France," Philippe said in a YouTube video. "If we allow our country's financial situation to deteriorate, we will all pay the price."
Philippe said he would also make retirement savings compulsory, as is common in many other countries, with the state contributing to young workers' savings plans as an incentive.
Philippe, a former prime minister during President Emmanuel Macron's first term, is struggling to gain momentum in the polls. One survey published on Tuesday showed him not making it to the May 6 runoff, trailing hard-left firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon and far-right frontrunner Marine Le Pen.
He came close to pushing through a pension overhaul in 2020, before it was shelved due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Macron later enacted a reform gradually raising the retirement age from 62 to 64, but it was suspended last year as a concession to Socialists to pass the 2026 budget.
(Reporting by Leigh ThomasEditing by Gareth Jones)
