AFP
Pensions: unions invited to Matignon, new mobilization on April 6
Dialogue, finally? Unions determined to talk about pensions are expected early next week at Matignon, a meeting with the executive unseen for weeks before a day of mobilization on April 6. The day after a 10th day of actions less provided and also less chaotic than expected, the two parties give themselves a little air to ease the tension with the prospect of this meeting, while the conflict in the street has entered its third month. From there to consider an exit crisis? There is a long way to go and the inter-union has planned an 11th day of action on April 6. Tuesday, the Ministry of the Interior identified 740,000 demonstrators throughout France, including 93,000 in Paris, the CGT “more than 2 million” including 450,000 in the capital. Until then, the unions have an appointment with the First Minister Elisabeth Borne. Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday? The date has not yet been decided but “we will go”, revealed the N.1 of the CFDT Laurent Berger on TMC on Tuesday evening, obviously not unhappy with this little twist. On Wednesday, on France info, he insisted as the day before on his desire to put the subject of pensions on the table, adding that “if they tell me: + you can’t talk about it + (..) they will leave the room or we will leave”. again put forward the proposal for mediation in the hard conflict of pensions, the hypothesis of which had however been swept away by the spokesman of the government Olivier Véran on Tuesday. Matignon confirmed the invitation but made no comment on its agenda. The Minister for Relations with Parliament Franck Riester and the president of the MoDem, François Bayrou warned on Wednesday that the question of raising the legal age of retirement at 64 will not be on the menu of the meeting. The postponement from 62 to 64, “this is the heart of the reform on which, since the start, there is no agreement” , declared Mr. Riester on Public Sénat, wishing that the exchange be organized around “subjects on which we agree”. “The 64-year-olds are in the text”, added François Bayrou on France2, “we cannot change the line at this point”. While the decision of the Constitutional Council on the pension reform is expected within three weeks, and against a backdrop of rising violence, Élisabeth Borne, had promised this weekend to “put appeasement”. , the head of state said he wanted to “continue to reach out to the union forces”, but on other subjects than pensions, according to a participant. And the executive to stand firmly on its position: the reform which provides for the postponement of the legal retirement age from 62 to 64 will apply. The heart of his project. That also of the dispute. By the voice of Olivier Véran, the government still dismissed at the end of the Council of Ministers on Tuesday the hypothesis of a pause in the application of the reform. A member of the majority, the MoDem has not said no to the idea of mediation. According to Mr. Véran, nothing prevents “in the interval” from the decision of the Constitutional Council, “to start discussing the modalities of application of the various elements of the text” which regularly sends more than a million people in the streets for two months. If they take place, will the reunion between government and unions only stage a dialogue of the deaf? For Sébastien Chenu (RN), guest on RTL, the invitation made to the unions shows that “the popular movement carries and that the strategy of exhaustion that Emmanuel Macron is trying to put in place (…) will not work” Another datum of the equation, the inter-union and the executive will have to do with a new direction of the CGT whose 53rd congress in Clermont-Ferrand takes place in a stormy atmosphere for the outgoing secretary general Philippe Martinez. Asked about the presence from the CGT to the meeting at Matignon, Mr. Berger assured that “until last night, the CGT there was no reason for it not to go there”.bur-grd-chl/grd /gvy
