来源：《华盛顿邮报》
原文刊登日期：2023年3月17日
French President Emmanuel Macron announced Thursday that he is pushing through a controversial reform of the country’s generous retirement system, a plan that two-thirds of the French public opposes and that in recent weeks has inspired crippling transit strikes and massive protests. Piles of garbage have mounted on Paris’s streets. Following news of Mr. Macron’s move, thousands of protesters gathered in the Place de la Concorde.
法国总统马克龙周四宣布，他将强行推动对法国慷慨的退休制度进行有争议的改革。三分之二的法国公众反对这一计划，最近几周引发了严重的交通罢工和大规模抗议活动。巴黎的街道上堆满了垃圾。马克龙此举的消息传出后，数千名抗议者聚集在协和广场。
It would be easy — but also a mistake — to dismiss this as yet another episode in France’s politics. Mr. Macron’s struggle reflects that of politicians in the United States, Japan and elsewhere, who face the challenge of providing a decent retirement for increasing numbers of aging citizens without draining resources rising generations need to lead decent lives. Despite this long-term imperative, forcing needed reforms to old-age benefit programs in democratic societies has so often proved impossible, and not just in France: A rare moment of bipartisan applause in President Biden’s recent State of the Union address came when he pledged to protect Social Security and Medicare, despite the glaring need to prevent them from busting the federal budget in coming decades.
人们很容易将此视为法国政治的又一插曲，但这是错误的。马克龙的困境反映了美国、日本和其他地方的政治家的困境，他们面临的挑战是，在不耗尽新一代过上体面生活所需的资源的情况下，为越来越多的老年公民提供体面的退休生活。尽管这是一项长期的使命，但在民主社会，迫使老年人福利计划进行必要的改革往往被证明是不可能的，不仅是在法国：在拜登总统最近的国情咨文演讲中，当他承诺保护社会保障和医疗保险时，尽管迫切需要防止它们在未来几十年破坏联邦预算，罕见地出现了两党同时鼓掌的时刻。
Mr. Macron squared the circle by essentially issuing a decree: He decided to force his proposal through the French Parliament without a vote, under a special provision of the French constitution.
马克龙实际上是通过发布一项法令来解决这个难题的：他决定根据法国宪法的一项特殊条款，不经表决，强行让自己的提议在法国议会获得通过。
Mr. Macron is right on the substance of his reform. The United Nations has projected that by 2050, the number of people aged 65 or older will double worldwide, from approximately 700 million to about 1.5 billion. And France is no exception: As the baby boomer generation ages, its population gains three people over 65 every five minutes, according to France’s National Institute for Demographic Studies. At the same time, the country’s average life expectancy has increased in recent years, reaching about 85 years for women and 79 years for men in 2020, some of the highest figures in the world. The United States and other industrialized countries also face daunting demographic challenges.
马克龙改革的事实基础是正确的。联合国预计，到2050年，全球65岁或以上人口的数量将翻一番，从约7亿增至约15亿。法国也不例外：根据法国国家人口研究所的数据，随着婴儿潮一代的老龄化，法国65岁以上的人口每五分钟就增加三个。与此同时，法国的平均预期寿命近年来有所增加，到2020年，女性预期寿命约为85岁，男性预期寿命约为79岁，是世界上人口寿命最长的国家之一。美国和其他工业化国家也面临严峻的人口挑战。
Already, France spends nearly 15 percent of its gross domestic product on pensions. Mr. Macron’s adjustment will be small, raising the retirement age from 62 to 64, which would still keep France well in line with most of its European neighbors. In Germany, for instance, the retirement age is 65, and lawmakers there are preparing to raise it to 67.
法国已经将国内生产总值(gdp)的近15%用于养老金。马克龙的调整幅度很小，将退休年龄从62岁提高到64岁，这仍将使法国与大多数欧洲邻国保持一致。例如，在德国，退休年龄是65岁，立法者正准备将其提高到67岁。
It is unfortunate Mr. Macron had to resort to imposing his reform without a parliamentary vote. Substantial changes to popular social programs are better achieved by vote of elected legislatures. In the long term, this helps ensure that needed reforms remain durable as power shifts to new leaders. It is also the only option in countries such as the United States, where the president lacks the powers that Mr. Macron is using.
不幸的是，马克龙不得不在未经议会投票的情况下强行推行改革。通过选举产生的立法机构的投票，可以更好地实现大众社会计划的实质性变革。从长期来看，这有助于确保在权力移交给新领导人之际，必要的改革能够持续下去。这也是美国等国家的唯一选择，因为美国总统缺乏马克龙正在使用的权力。
In France, as in the United States, the politics around old-age benefits needs to change, because the demographic trends won’t. All leaders who recognize the challenge should recommit to guiding the public toward facing it — or else be cursed by future generations when the bill comes due.
在法国，就像在美国一样，围绕老年福利的政治需要改变，因为人口趋势不会改变。所有认识到这一挑战的领导人都应该重新致力于引导公众面对这一挑战，否则，当养老金难以为继时，将被子孙后代咒骂。