Taking the political and trade union world by surprise, Emmanuel Macron announced, Monday, December 12, the postponement to January 10 of the presentation of the pension reform, claiming to want to leave to the social partners and the new leaders of the Republicans and Europe Ecology- Greens time ” to change “ with the executive on this highly contested project.
“This allows us to have a few more weeks so that those who (…) have just taken on responsibilities can discuss some key elements of the reform with the government”declared the Head of State opening the second plenary session of the National Council for Refoundation (CNR) at the Elysée Palace.
Emmanuel Macron justified himself by evoking both the elections in the civil service, which “prevented certain discussions with the trade unions”and the political congresses last weekend, at the end of which Eric Ciotti was elected head of the Republicans and Marine Tondelier appointed national secretary of Europe Ecologie-Les Verts.
“The government does not yet know very well where it is going. Their text is not readyreacted Eric Ciotti, deputy of the Alpes-Maritimes. For the moment, I see this as an alibi for hesitation, more than a concern for negotiation. »
New calendar
The executive had planned to present this Thursday, a few days before Christmas, the main lines of this text, the cornerstone of Emmanuel Macron’s second five-year term. Many opponents had announced that they were preparing to block it by all meansfrom the streets to Parliament, La France insoumise (LFI) calling in particular for a mobilization on January 21, in line with its “march against the dear life”. “First victory! The retirement project at 65 has not yet been presented and Macron is already retreating”, reacted on Twitter Mathilde Panotat the head of the LFI deputies, confirming the action of January 21.
The government quickly specified the timetable for the next few weeks. Elisabeth Borne will start “a series of meetings with the presidents of parliamentary groups” Tuesday and Wednesday, we reported on the side of Matignon. She will receive again “professional organizations and trade unions the week of January 2”, we added. The text should then be adopted by the Council of Ministers on January 18 or 25.
The executive began several weeks ago to prepare minds for the reform, multiplying press interviews, work meetings at Matignon and dinners at the Elysée. The nature of the reform is already known, it being marked out by the presidential promise to push back the legal age from 62 to 64, or even 65. This last hypothesis holds the rope.
The trade unions have acted on the postponement, questioning the motivations of the executive. “I think the executive is very worried – and he is right – about what the mobilization will be like in January”, noted to AFP François Hommeril, president of the CFE-CGC. He “has put himself in an impasse (…). Extending this consultation for two weeks or a month does not change anything..
On the side of the CFTC, we wanted to be a little more optimistic. ” This is a good thing. The agenda was going too fast, we didn’t have time to be listened to, we were working in a hurryreacted Pascale Coton, vice-president of the organization. We hope it’s not just so that the French have a good holiday and a good party. »
“If the government takes the time to listen to us, maybe we can convince it. But if it’s just to save time…”declared, for his part, Dominique Corona, Deputy Secretary General of the UNSA.
Despite this postponement, the government still wants to move quickly: a bill in January, a vote in the spring, entry into force in the summer. The urgency is justified by the executive by the lasting return of massive deficits, which, according to him, would exceed 12 billion in 2027.