One of the main ideological points of Sarkozy's campaign was to promote work ethics, undo the 35 heures, lengthen work hours. So the government is aiming to make it very hard financially to retire early.

OTOH, some banners put up during the demonstration were asking for 37.5 years of contribution for all, even CGT banners, which hadn't happened during the 1995 and 2003 strikes.

Un roi sans divertissement est un homme plein de misères