The French unions yesterday considered a provocation and a new gesture of "contempt" towards them that President Emmanuel Macron hastily promulgated, at dawn, the new law on the delay by two years of the legal retirement age. The head of state ignored the union call to delay the signing of the law and to open a new dialogue on the pension reform.
A few hours have passed since the Constitutional Council validated the reform and rejected the possibility of collecting signatures for a referendum. Macron had a period of two weeks to complete the process, but he opted for maximum speed.
The Élysée tenant is determined to turn the page as soon as possible on the worst political and social crisis since he came to power, in May 2017. The president thought that the best thing to do was to skip steps, enact the law without the slightest delay and not give any margin for a reconsideration, even if the cost in terms of popular discontent is high and public order is compromised.
"We want to move forward calmly with the French," said government spokesman Olivier Véran in an interview on TF1 news. Véran confirmed that the law will enter into force on October 1st. The spokesman announced a televised address by the president, on Monday night, to explain himself to the country and try to calm things down. Most likely, he will once again justify his firmness by the fact that the pension reform was on his electoral platform, and that he will reach out to the unions to discuss issues such as working conditions, youth employment and others. issues on which they want to legislate in the coming months.
The union reaction to the nocturnal signature of the law did not wait. The leaders of the two largest organizations, the French Democratic Confederation of Labor (CFDT) and the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) coincided in reproaching Macron for "contempt". The new secretary of the CGT, Sophie Binet, called her attitude "totally shameful". "Macron closes the door in our faces once again and confirms the very disturbing radicalization of power," said the union leader. Laurent Berger, from the CFDT, stressed that "from the beginning, the contempt for the workers will have been constant, but their dignity on the street is stronger."
The unions know that they have lost the legal game, unless the Constitutional Council decided to accept a second petition for a referendum. The ruling on that resource will arrive on May 3. All in all, the fight will continue, at least until the May Day festival. They want this year to become a massive no to the pension reform, a clamor in the street. The inter-union of railway workers has called a "day of anger" next Thursday, April 20, as an aperitif before the Labor Day mobilization.
Spontaneous protests, which almost always lead to riots, have taken place in various cities since the Constitutional Council's decision was announced at 6 pm on Friday. The same night there were incidents in Paris, Lyon, Nantes and Rennes. In the latter city, the capital of Brittany, protesters burned the door of a police station and an old convent, on the same Friday night. Yesterday afternoon there were problems again. Given the especially explosive situation in Rennes, the Ministry of the Interior sent police reinforcements.
The editorials in the press echoed, unanimously although with different nuances, the delicate moment that France is going through. The conservative newspaper Le Figaro spoke of "collective disaster" and lamented the image of an ungovernable country. The newspaper Libération, historical spokesperson for left-wing progressivism, described the Constitutional ruling as a "brutal decision", not only because of its content but also because of its form. According to the newspaper, the opinion was written "in a bureaucratic way, devoid of any style and any nuance." Le Monde warned that the climate that is being created only favors the extreme right, as confirmed by the polls. “The President of the Republic cannot fail to see that the reform he wants to impose provides powerful fuel for Marine Le Pen”, wrote the Paris evening newspaper, for which “the cost of the pension reform seems exorbitant” and “ It contributes to further undermine the morale of a country that no longer manages to value its successes”.
