Macron signs controversial pension changes into law after months of protests

French president Emmanuel Macron has signed his controversial pension reform into law, defying three months of protests and pleas from unions not to implement the legislation. In the first paragraph, the word: ‘sixty-two; is replaced by the word: ‘sixty-four’,” states the text, referring to the retirement age. Unions issued a joint statement urging Macron not to sign the legislation into law, saying the issue was “not finished”. In a second decision on Friday, the court rejected a bid from opposition lawmakers to force a referendum on an alternative pension law that would have kept the retirement age at 62. France lags behind most of its European neighbours, many of which have hiked the retirement age to 65 or above.