France's Constitutional Council to Decide on Pension Reform Going Into Effect, Macron Says

PARIS (Sputnik) - The French Constitutional Council is currently considering the pension reform to decide whether it will go into effect, President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday.

"[The reform] is under consideration by the Constitutional Council, and its entry into force will depend on its decision," he said in an interview with the French broadcasters.

The president added that he is not happy to carry out the reform and regrets that the authorities could not better explain the need for the reform to the French people.

He stressed that the French government should have the right to stop strikes that block the economy if it interferes with the life of the French.

"When groups use extreme violence to attack those elected by the republic … when they use violence without any rules because they are unhappy with something, it is no longer a republic … There is a blockade [of the economy] and one must have the right to remove this blockade," Macron told the French broadcaster.