French constitutional body rejects pension referendum call

PARIS (AP) — France’s top constitutional body has rejected a last-ditch effort by opposition lawmakers to undo President Emmanuel Macron’s law raising the retirement age to 64. The Constitutional Council deemed that a proposed bill doesn’t meet the needed criteria. It was the second time the council has rejected the plan to restore the retirement age to 62 via a possible referendum or new bill. The process called for would be long even had it passed muster. And it wouldn’t have stopped Macron’s law from going forward. The council ruled on Wednesday that the proposal does not address “reform regarding social policy” and therefore doesn’t satisfy the French Constitution.