Government spokesman Olivier Véran assured that the executive would continue to roll out a “reorganized” roadmap, beyond the pension reform which, despite the blockages and the dispute, “does not sign the retirement of the reforms “, in an interview with the Sunday newspaper.

“The pension reform does not sign the retirement of the reforms. There will be, tomorrow, other reforms, led by us or by the governments which will succeed us”, underlines Mr. Véran with the weekly.

Among these future texts, some “will be unpopular, but necessary for the future of the country”, and validated “democratically (…) by legitimate parliaments”, he insists.

The executive will face next Tuesday a 10th day of mobilization against the pension reform, whose political future is now in the hands of the Constitutional Council, while tensions in the street are growing.

“We cannot let the idea take hold that violence would be a justifiable or understandable reaction,” notes Mr. Véran.

Looking ahead, Mr. Véran indicates that the government will “rearrange” the parliamentary agenda to “respond to the concerns of the daily lives of the French: access to doctors, class closures, access to identity papers “.

In the absence of an absolute majority in the Assembly, “we must also think about how to proceed without necessarily systematically resorting to the law”, he adds, also pleading for “better involve the people in decision-making”.

For example, “we are going to postpone the text on immigration and integration. This is a theme on which it would be interesting to allow society to reflect”.

In the wake of Emmanuel Macron, Mr. Véran ensures that the executive intends to collaborate with the union forces, yet the wind is standing against the reform.

“We will not agree on the decline at 64, but alongside this question there are many others, essential for the French, on which we want to work with them”, he argues, citing the “end-of-career management”, “professional retraining” or even the “revaluation of wages below the Smic”

03/26/2023 08:34:53 –         Paris (AFP) –         © 2023 AFP