He would have preferred not to, but he had to. That was the tenor of it television interview from President Emmanuel Macron, making his first public statement since his unpopular pension reform was forced into parliament. “Do you think I like it?” he asked. “I could have swept it under the rug like dust. I do it in the interest of the country.”
Expectations beforehand were high: what would the president do to calm things down after the ongoing protests? Opponents called for the reform to be withdrawn; other possibilities were to reshuffle the government or to withdraw confidence in the prime minister.
But Macron didn’t want it. Armed with figures on ageing, the economic situation in the country and the minimum retirement age in European neighboring countries, he came to explain why his reform is necessary. He was willing to admit one mistake: “I have not been able to convince people of the necessity.”
Check out this series of images: The French oppose pension reform
That is clear, says Parisian Chloe Nadotti (34) on the Place de la République on Wednesday afternoon. Graffiti on the monument behind her calls for a popular uprising. “I work at a change management consultancy and I can tell you: the government has done everything you should not do in a change management process.”
According to Nadotti, the authorities communicated too little and contradictory and contact with ‘social partners’ such as trade unions was poor. “From an economic point of view, I understand that this reform is necessary, but from a social point of view it has been handled very badly.” That’s why so many French people take to the streets, she thinks. “In other countries they will say: they are crazy. But it is the French mentality, we are a social country.”
The 59-year-old Hessen Fanildoust – scarf, neat sweater – is smoking around the corner in front of his shop with Persian carpets. “I voted for Macron twice,” he says softly. “But I don’t like the timing of this reform. After everything we’ve been through: the Yellow Vests, Covid, the increased prices – it’s not the right time.”
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Macron said earlier in the day that this is the right time. “The nation has spent tens of billions of dollars to [het volk] to protect,” he said, referring to the corona and purchasing power support packages. “Our [publieke] accounts have deteriorated.” He also wants to talk to the trade unions about lighter work for people with heavy jobs and reducing unemployment. Chloe Nadotti has to laugh a bit about it. “Now it is too late. Everyone is already angry, and who wants to communicate when you are angry?”
Parisians will have to sit with that anger for a while: the daily protests continue and Thursday is another big strike day. At ‘République’, broken windows and burn marks remind of the discontent; elsewhere sidewalks are inaccessible due to the accumulated waste from waste disposal strikes.
Graphic designer Adèle Provost (24), fiercely against the reform, does not think Macron cares, nor that he is acting in the national interest. “He lives for Europe and his own legacy.” Typical for her are the concerns that there would be in the Élysée about it visit from King Charles Sunday. Macron does not want the image of a Paris strewn with rubbish to shine on him. He is more concerned with that than with us.”
A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper of March 23, 2023