So there has not been much unity among French union leaders for more than a decade. On Tuesday evening, shortly after Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne had presented the pension reform, they appeared in front of the cameras in front of the Bourse du Travail, the “temple of the working class” in Paris. CFDT President Laurent Berger read a joint communiqué signed by eight unions. “The intergenerational contract is not in danger. Nothing justifies such a brutal reform,” Berger read. He had been chosen as spokesman because the CFDT had liked to be constructive in the past and had backed away from a number of strikes. The union leader supported earlier reforms of the social security systems, but now he has switched to a frontal opposition course.
On January 19, the unions plan to show their strength at a national day of strikes and protests. The trade unions are thus anticipating the day of action planned for January 21 by the left-wing party LFI. Their anger focuses on the gradual increase in the retirement age to 64, which is due to be completed in 2031. A majority of the French know they are on their side. The polling institute Elabe interviewed a representative panel of 1,002 French people immediately after the head of government presented the reform project. 59 percent of respondents reject the reform. The reform receives the greatest support from the age group that will not be affected: 60 percent of pensioners over 65 years of age support the project. Manual workers (76 percent) and white-collar workers (67 percent) are strongly opposed. 58 percent of respondents say the reform is “unfair”.
