On Wednesday, September 24, the Prime Minister met with the unions, who are asking him to reconsider the pension reform and the retirement age of 64. Louis Sarkozy gave his point of view on this always thorny issue: for him, it's clear that we are "immature" compared to our neighbors.

We absolutely must revisit this pension reform ... but to go further! Our current system is at its wit's end. Pay-as-you-go solidarity worked when there were four workers to finance one retiree. Today, there are only 1.6. It's no longer a social model; it's a debt machine. But let's be clear: even with all the goodwill in the world, Sébastien Lecornu will not be able to tackle the issue single-handedly. The issue is too hot, too divisive. Only a majority presidential mandate can hope to address it.

The French are defending their social model... and that's why it must be saved! In France, pensions are a political totem, a sacred taboo that has, in the past, paralyzed the country. People insult and rebel over a figure that, in Denmark, only relates to life expectancy!

We are unique in this immaturity.

If France collapses economically, retirees will be the first to fall. Pensions are the largest public expenditure. Look at Greece, look at Portugal: rescue plans have destroyed pensions. Doing nothing today is dooming tomorrow; acting intelligently is preserving them.

WHAT TO DO?

The least painful, least difficult, and most necessary solution is to index the retirement age to life expectancy, as the Danes do. It's mathematical and simple: we live longer, so we must work longer. We are also free to adapt it for the most difficult jobs: the coal miner does not live as long as the Parisian banker. But since life expectancy is rising for everyone, this system allows us to rebalance the accounts.

The unions retort that work is exhausting, the left howls. In 2010, the age of 62 was the Fourth Reich; today, it's the Red Dream. But the real scandal is that work no longer pays enough! Working people are being stifled with record contributions: 28% of their salary goes to fund pensions.

The ever-decreasing number of workers is carrying an ever-increasing burden. As a result, labor costs are skyrocketing, businesses are losing competitiveness, and young people can no longer afford to start a family. We need to restore the value of work, lower its cost, and encourage people to work. As a former President of the Republic said: you have to work more to earn more.

WHAT ARE OUR NEIGHBORS DOING ABOUT THIS ISSUE?

It's simple. Germany, Spain, Italy, and Denmark are raising the retirement age to 65, 66, and 67. We are the ones who work the shortest hours but, ironically, who spend the most. It's absurd. We can't continue to be the European exception. France is the country in the world that treats its retirees best: their poverty rate is the lowest, their savings rate the highest. It's admirable, but it's not sustainable. We need to rebalance the social effort.