Retirement: Bpifrance chief advocates raising retirement age to 65 or beyond

Sunday 19 October 2025 - 10:00

By: Sahili Aya

Retirement: Bpifrance chief advocates raising retirement age to 65 or beyond

Nicolas Dufourcq, head of Bpifrance, has called for a significant increase in France’s retirement age, suggesting it should be raised to 65 years or beyond in light of the country’s aging population.

Speaking in an interview with Le Journal du Dimanche (JDD), Dufourcq emphasized that, to preserve France’s welfare system, the nation must confront demographic realities. “If we look at the data objectively, we need to work longer,” he stated, challenging current debates on suspending the 2023 pension reform, which raised the legal retirement age from 62 to 64.

Under the proposed suspension, the retirement age would remain at 62 years and 9 months until early 2028, with a required contribution period of 170 quarters for a full pension. Dufourcq argued this approach ignores the reality of an aging population, noting that many people between 60 and 70 years old remain in good health and can continue working, though he acknowledged differences depending on professions.

He highlighted that manual workers in physically demanding jobs may need to retire earlier, while professionals such as bankers who start careers in their early twenties often retire prematurely, a trend he sees as unsustainable.

Dufourcq also criticized past policy decisions, including the lowering of the retirement age to 60 in 1982, calling it “a mistake that France is still paying for.” He stressed that a portion of pensions is essentially debt, and policymakers must recognize the financial implications of the country’s demographic changes.