Right in his boots, the President of the Republic is certain to “choose seriousness” on the reforms he has initiated. According to him, they will make it possible to achieve a “more just” social model. In an interview with the newspaper Sud Ouest, published on Friday, May 5, Emmanuel Macron also calls on the unions to a “responsible social dialogue”.
“I choose seriousness, work and reindustrialization as I announced during the presidential campaign. And this, to strengthen the French social model, “he explains, once again defending the pension reform. “The goal: to make it fairer […] This is the heart of the reforms that I have always carried out since I have been in political life. It is an emancipatory reformism. That’s progressivism,” he insists.
The Head of State is trying to turn the page on pensions, while the protest remains strong, by now emphasizing a “new pact” for life at work.
Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne suggests that the unions return to the negotiating table to discuss this pact, which will cover wages, working conditions, the employment of seniors and career retraining. “The idea is to build an agenda by the summer and then they [the social partners, editor’s note] negotiate it until the end of the year”, recalls Emmanuel Macron. “That’s responsible social dialogue,” he says.
“The spirit of responsibility is knowing how to manage our disagreements”, he points out again. “We must find harmony for the ambition of the country,” he continues.
In the aftermath of a successful mobilization on May 1, the unions called for a fourteenth day of action on June 6, when the deputies will examine two days later a bill aimed at repealing the pension reform. The intersyndicale has not yet taken a clear position on the invitation of the Prime Minister, while suggesting that it will participate.
