Against the backdrop of new demonstrations against the pension reform, Emmanuel Macron estimated on Tuesday evening that it was necessary to “appease” and “listen to the anger” of the French after the disputed adoption of the text by Parliament, while affirming that “the crowd “had no “legitimacy” in the face of the elected.
The Head of State spoke to the parliamentarians of the presidential camp invited to the Elysee Palace at the end of a day punctuated by consultation meetings with ministers and leaders of Macronie. And on the eve of his television interview on Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. on TF1 and France 2.
He had earlier ruled out the most radical options to revive his five-year term. This already appears to be hampered after less than a year: on Monday, the adoption of its flagship reform was done in pain and the government of Elisabeth Borne narrowly survived a cross-partisan motion of censure in the Assembly national.
During the day, President Macron received the Prime Minister, accompanied by several ministers, as well as the leaders of his relative majority.
Several participants in this meeting assured AFP that the Head of State had no intention of dissolving the Assembly, or reshuffling the government, or calling a referendum on the reform pushing back the age of retirement from age 62 to 64. The option of withdrawing the text, demanded by the unions and the opponents, was also ruled out.
According to one of these participants, he asked his troops to make “within two to three weeks” “proposals” for a “change of method and agenda of reforms”.
Elisabeth Borne also chained the meetings, after having claimed, behind closed doors, that the adoption of the text in pain was despite everything a “victory”.
“The Prime Minister is the only one, and our majority is the only one, who can carry a government project today,” assured Olivier Véran, government spokesperson.
At the same time, the protest continues all over France, with new demonstrations, sometimes fraught with tension.
In Paris, a tense face to face with exchanges of projectile jets and tear gas pitted a few hundred people against the police on the Place de la République, after a union rally which brought together up to 3,500 demonstrators, according to the police headquarters. 11 people were arrested.
Other processions took place in Lille or Grenoble, as well as in Rennes and Nantes, where tear gas was fired, as well as damage on the sidelines of the procession.
During the demonstrations on Monday evening, nearly 300 people were arrested, including 234 in Paris. “Improper arrests”, according to the left.
The police “have a duty to set an example”, replied Elisabeth Borne to the Assembly, while paying them “homage”.
In addition to the renewable garbage collectors’ strike in several cities including Paris, around 12% of service stations in France have run out of petrol or diesel and 6% have run out.
Incidents erupted Tuesday in front of the oil depot of Fos-sur-Mer, near Marseille, where the authorities proceeded to the first requisitions of personnel on strike against the reform.
“Nothing undermines the determination of the workers”, warned the CGT, before a new day of action Thursday, at the call of all the unions.
Less than 48 hours from this new mobilization, the RATP foresees “very disrupted” traffic in the transport of the capital and its inner suburbs. Ditto for trains at the national level, for the SNCF.
The secretary general of the CFDT Laurent Berger said he was worried about the “anger” and “violence” that could be expressed because of the adoption of a law which had “no majority in the Assembly “.
Political offices have been degraded, including those of LR in Amiens, of Horizons deputy for Marne Xavier Albertini in Reims or of his counterpart LR Xavier Breton in Ain.
According to Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, “more than 1,200” undeclared demonstrations, “sometimes violent”, have taken place throughout the territory since Thursday. He announced that “12,000 police and gendarmes” would be mobilized on Thursday, including “5,000 in Paris”.
Between 600,000 and 800,000 demonstrators, including 40,000 to 70,000 in Paris are expected by the authorities.
Politically also the pressure does not fall, after the use of 49.3 to pass the reform without a vote.
The rejection of the motion of censure by only nine votes gave energy to the opposition.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon (LFI) estimated Tuesday evening that Emmanuel Macron “set fire and closed all the exits” by “passing in force” the reform.
The left calls in particular for a referendum of shared initiative (RIP), of which the Elders must examine the admissibility.
It also relies on the Constitutional Council, seized of the reform. The National Rally filed its own appeal on Tuesday to have this text “put in the trash” and Marine Le Pen warned that she would not participate in “putting out the fire” of the protest.
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03/21/2023 22:57:09 – Paris (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
