Less than 15 minutes to try to close three months that have split France and a social crisis that still seems far from over: Emmanuel Macron said he “felt the anger” of the French, admitting that the reform that raises the retirement age from 62 to 64, while “necessary”, “has not been accepted”. Then he tried to announce “three construction sites” with which he would like to move on, but the comments of the unions and the opposition were unequivocal in attacking a president “disconnected from reality”: the fight continues, May 1st will be a day” historical”, the promise. Recorded in the halls of the Elysium, the first speech after the last few days of controversy with the promulgation of the reform law reflected the forecasts. Macron expressed his “regret” because the reform was not “accepted” but reiterated that it was absolutely “necessary to defend everyone’s pensions” and not having to “lower pensions”, “increase contributions” or simply ” do nothing”. “But I have heard the anger expressed in the face of a job that no longer allows you to live well, in the face of rising prices, for petrol, for groceries”.
Pension reform in France, trade union: ‘Government won’t back down but neither will we’
To turn the page, Macron has announced that he wants to create “a new pact for life at work” as early as “in the coming weeks, and for this he has invited trade unions and entrepreneurs to the Elysée starting tomorrow to discuss. An appointment that the union leaders they have already announced their intention to boycott after the promulgation of the law that they had asked Macron, up to the last minute, not to sign. The head of the Elysée relaunched: “The door will always be open for the unions”, an offer that seems to fall on deaf ears, given that the government’s relations with social partners are now at a standstill. The work was at the center of the discussion and also represents the first of three “construction sites” that Macron has announced he wants to open immediately. He spoke of the “reindustrialization” of the country, of “a greener economy that allows us to keep our commitments on the climate”: “We will go towards a new productive and ecological model”, he said, giving himself “100 days” – up to 14 July, national holiday – to act “in the service of France”.
Pension reform in France, protesters march in Paris
The second construction site concerns “justice and the republican order”, with the commitment to hire “over 10,000 magistrates” and create “200 new gendarmerie brigades” for the countryside, fighting crime and in particular social and tax fraud. In the justice yard, also the strengthening of the “control of illegal immigration” with “better integration of those who arrive in our country”. The third construction site is instead that of progress “to live better”: schools too will have to change and go back to being among the best in Europe with better remuneration for teachers and a relaunch of professional high schools that allow for better qualifications and more effective integration of young people into the world of work. Also mentioned is the ailing public health sector, which needs to be “profoundly rebuilt”. Again, a promise: “Reduce all emergency services by the end of next year”.
“An unreal Macron. Completely out of touch with reality. He took upon himself the theft of two years of freedom”, was the almost real-time tweet of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the tribune of the radical left of La France Insoumise. For the communist leader Fabien Roussel, “those who have not listened to him have lost nothing”. While the socialist spokesman Pierre Jouvet limited himself to reiterating the appointment in the streets for May 1st.
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