Emmanuel Macron declared to the unions that “the government is, as it has always been, listening to you” on the pension reform, while stressing that it was essential, and assured not to “underestimate” the “discontent” and the “anxieties” of the French.
The dialogue is always open to “find innovative solutions, without compromising on the need to restore a lasting balance to our pension system”, replied the Head of State in a letter to the inter-union dated Thursday.
“I do not underestimate the dissatisfaction of which you are the spokesperson like the anxieties expressed by many French people worried about never having a pension”, replied the president in his missive, the content of which had been revealed first. by TF1/LCI.
The “silence” of the president, a “democratic problem”
The unions had asked on Tuesday evening to be received by Emmanuel Macron “so that he withdraws his reform” from pensions, pointing to the strong mobilization in the street against the project and considering that the “silence of the President of the Republic constitutes a serious problem. democratic”.
A request they reiterated Thursday in a letter. The executive had already rejected this request on Wednesday, stressing that the door of the Minister of Labor Olivier Dussopt, however, remained open.
Emmanuel Macron insisted on his “attachment to dialogue” but also considered that the time was in “parliamentary time”, after the “consultations carried out” by Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne and the adjustments already made to the text. “Since my election I have always shown my attachment to dialogue with the French as well as with trade unions and professional organisations”, he writes.
“As guarantor of the institutions, it is my duty to preserve this parliamentary time which is currently taking place,” he added, assuring that “all points of view are expressed” in both chambers. “You strongly express your disagreement with this bill and have organized demonstrations in a spirit of responsibility which honors you”, continues the Head of State. “Many advances have been made, including on the issue of the legal age by giving up raising it to 65,” he points out, however.