http://dx.doi.org/10.17176/20230427-084404-0 https://verfassungsblog.de/a-conservative-constitutional-council-watching-over-a-conservative-constitution/ A Conservative Constitutional Council Watching over a Conservative Constitution Perroud, Thomas eng 2023-04-26 electronic resource text/html ddc:342 Conseil Constitutionnel Emmanuel Macron Pension Reform Referendum Verfassungsblog Verfassungsblog--2366-7044 CC BY-SA 4.0 On 14 April 2023, the French Constitutional Council handed down its decisions on the constitutionality of the controversial pension reform and on the referendum that was supposed to stop it. In substance, the decisions were met with little surprise. What is noteworthy about them, however, is something else: Both decisions are excellent indicators of the profoundly conservative nature of the French Constitution and of the judges watching over its observance.