France passes pension reform bill

France's lower house of parliament has passed a controversial pension reform bill which will raise the minimum pension age from 60 to 62 by 2018.



The bill was passed 329 votes to 233 in the National Assembly after a stormy parliamentary session.



It will now go before the Senate.



However, union leaders have said they will stage mass protests when it does.



Pension reform has been a key policy of President Nicolas Sarkozy.



The bill is designed to reduce France's pension costs and bring public borrowing down.