What most people outside of France do not realize is that in order to sweep the elections and beat his arch enemy Jacques Chirac, Francois Mitterrand ran on a platform of severely decreasing the retirement age. He cut the retirement age to 60 from 65 after he swept into power at the head of a Socialist-Communist alliance in 1981 for the first of two terms that lasted until 1995. Once a gift like that is given, it is sorely difficult to take it back!!
The newspapers say more than 70% of the French support the strike, but it seems that there is a difference in their minds between supporting the idea or the right to strike versus the reason for the strike. Most people that we have talked to realize that France must increase the age of retirement both to appease the budgetary problems as well as to compete with the Western world. I have to admit that if I were offered the opportunity to retire AND still receive most of my salary at 60 years young, I would jump at it and be pretty grumpy at having to give it up.
| Country | Early retirement age | Normal retirement age | Employed, 55–59 | Employed, 60–64 | Employed, 65–69 | Employed, 70+ |
| Austria | 60 (57) | 65 (60) | 39% | 7% | 1% | 0% |
| Belgium | 60 | 65 | 45% | 12% | 1% | 0% |
| Denmark | none | 65 | 77% | 35% | 9% | 1% |
| France | none | 60* | 51% | 12% | 1% | 0% |
| Germany | 65 | 67 | 64% | 23% | 3% | 0% |
| Greece | 57 | 65 | 51% | 31% | 8% | 1% |
| Italy | 57 | 65 (60) | 34% | 12% | 1% | 0% |
| Netherlands | 60 | 65 | 53% | 22% | 3% | 0% |
| Norway | 62 | 67 | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Spain | 60 | 65 | 46% | 22% | 0% | 0% |
| Sweden | 61 | 65 | 78% | 58% | 5% | 1% |
| Switzerland | 63 (61), [58] | 65 (64) | 77% | 46% | 7% | 2% |
| United Kingdom | none | 65 | 69% | 40% | 10% | 2% |
| United States | 62 | 66 | 66% | 43% | 20% | 5% |
