Macron secures pension victory but gloom deepens in France

President Emmanuel Macron looks to have won his battle to push through widely unpopular pension reform, but many experts and historians believe he has deepened the gloom enveloping French democracy. France’s constitutional court approved the core parts of Macron’s pension reform on Friday, paving the way for the centrist head of state to sign into law a hike in the retirement age to 64 from its current level of 62. But the manner in which the legislation has been passed — in the face of opposition from two out of three voters, trade unions, and a majority of MPs in…