When the French nobleman Michel de Montaigne decided to retire from politics in 1571, he coined the word retraite, literally translated as retreat. “The little time of my life that I have left,” the 38-year-old was convinced, “I will dedicate to my freedom, my peace and my free time.” Montaigne invented the concept of pension, until today retraite in French, he was the first pensioner in French history.
The arguments of those protesting President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms today are the same as those of Montaigne and his heirs.