Emmanuel Macron addresses the French in a televised speech in which he tries to resume dialogue after the controversial announcement of the pension reform law between last Friday and Saturday. The publication in the Official Journal just a few hours after the Constitutional Council was launched was interpreted by trade unions and the opposition as a further “provocation”. “He shows contempt to the last minute,” said CFDT boss Laurent Berger. “The changes provided for in this pension law will gradually come into force from autumn”: These are Emmanuel Macron’s first words in his televised address to the French after confirming that he had announced the reform law that has sparked protests in the country for the past three months.
Pension reform in France, union: “The government will not back down, but neither will we”
Pension reform “was necessary to secure everyone’s pension and create more prosperity for our nation,” he said macron. “As the number of pensioners increases – he said – and our life expectancies lengthen, the answer could not have been to lower pensions or increase the contributions of those who work. The reform was necessary, but is it an accepted reform? not. Despite months of consultation, no consensus could be reached. And I regret it, we must all learn lessons from this.”I heard the anger of the French. I heard opposition to the reform in the demonstrations – continued the President – but also the desire to rediscover the meaning of one’s work, to improve its conditions, to pursue careers that allow one to get ahead in life”.
Pension reform in France, demonstrators march in Paris
The unions and political parties opposed to the reform to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 say they are determined to continue the fight even though, from an institutional perspective, the reform road is closed. Macron would like to “turn the page” and “move to other reforms” – as Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has pointed out – but using trust to pass a law in Parliament that most French people did not want has left its mark. The President will receive ministers and majority leaders during the day at the Elysée Palace to consult them on “the prospects and the coming weeks and months,” his entourage said. The unions – who also meet during the day to finalize the strategy – want to keep the social temperature high and not let the protest die down. For May 1st, the chairwoman of the CGT, Sophie Binet, wants a “popular and historic wave” on the streets. Berger hopes that “all records in terms of demonstrators on the square will be broken” that day.
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