Dhe signal comes from the finance and economics minister personally. Bruno Le Maire announced that he would be wearing a turtleneck sweater instead of a shirt and tie in the future. “Frugality” (“sobriété”) is the new leitmotif of the government. All French people were called upon to only heat interiors to a maximum of 19 degrees Celsius. In order to get through the crisis, the pension system should be placed on a solid financial basis.
The farewell to the tie goes hand in hand with the announcement that he now wants to get serious about the law to gradually raise the retirement age from the current 62 to 65 in 2031. “Best before Christmas,” said Le Maire after a crisis dinner in the Elysée -Palace leaked on Wednesday night. Most French don’t like President Emmanuel Macron’s slowing down. In a survey published in Le Figaro, the opinion research institute Odoxa determined that 72 percent believe that reform is possible without raising the retirement age. 55 percent do not want the pension system to be reformed at all.
Macron’s allies are distraught
On Thursday there were preventive strikes in public transport, schools and public broadcasting in Paris and other major cities. The left-wing trade union CGT has called for the protests. CGT leader Philippe Martinez told France 2 TV on Thursday that “all unions in France are opposed to working until 64 or 65”.
After the crisis meeting in the evening, Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne announced that she was launching a new round of consultations with trade unions and employers. CGT boss Martinez was willing to talk, but at the same time threatened: “If it’s just a matter of raising the retirement age, then that won’t take long.” The chairman of the moderate CFDT union, Laurent Berger, warned of an explosive social climate. “If the government simply pulls through the reform project, there will be frontal opposition,” said Berger.
Macron’s hit-and-run method has unsettled closest allies. The President of the National Assembly, Yael Braun-Pivet, warned against bypassing the parliamentary opinion-making process. Macron initially intended to include the increase in the retirement age in the budget law for the upcoming social security budget at the beginning of October. The most important ally of the centrist party Modem, Francois Bayrou, publicly expressed his displeasure at this “violent kick”. He was half an hour late for the crisis meeting and complained that the French were only being told about the pension reform for accounting reasons.
Macron threatens to dissolve parliament
When it came to oysters, whelks and shrimp, Le Maire and Budget Minister Gabriel Attal advocated accelerating the reform process. The situation will not be any better in the new year, she argues. The group leader of the Renaissance presidential party, Aurore Bergé, also called for a fast pace. “The topic was debated for a long time during the election campaign,” said Bergé. Bayrou, on the other hand, said nobody would remember Macron’s campaign promises.
During the election campaign, Macron had announced a gradual increase to 65 years, an acknowledgment of the difficulty and a minimum monthly pension of 1,100 euros. Late at night, the President spoke a word of power. He gives the Prime Minister a maximum of two months to vote, but negotiations are taboo. An independent legal text should be drawn up, which will be presented to the National Assembly by December at the latest. The vote should take place in January. However, if the trade unions objected, the pension reform would be added to the budget law as an amendment.
Macron does not shy away from a motion of no confidence from the opposition that could overthrow his minority government. If his government is brought down over pension reform, he will dissolve the National Assembly. The president said he was not afraid of new elections. Government spokesman Olivier Véran said he did not believe in crippling social protests.
