Less than an hour together and without any progress. After two months of massive strikes and demonstrations, the French government and the unions met this Wednesday, for the first time this year, to discuss the unpopular pension reform. As expected, the meeting turned out to be a “failure & rdquor;. It did not serve to unravel or provide any solution to the current debate on raising the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64 years (with 43 years contributing to receive a full pension).
The script for the meeting was written in advance and there was no unexpected twist. On the one hand, the Executive of Emmanuel Macron maintains his criticized measure and does not make any concessions to the union leaders. On the other, the workers’ organizations do not give up. They have called for this Thursday the 11th day of strikes and demonstrations —the 9th in the framework of a general strike— throughout the country. Although garbage collectors in Paris resumed work after almost 20 days of unlimited strike action, other unlimited work stoppages continue in other sectors, such as some fuel refineries. A group of trade unionists occupied this Wednesday morning the Arc de Triomphe in the French capital and displayed a large banner with the message: “Not at 64 years old & rdquor ;.
« 64, c’est non »
Occupation en cours à l’Arc de triomphe.
Unis, nous triompherons ✊🔥
🎥@cgt_culture #ReformDesRetraites pic.twitter.com/6n2igsjHyK—Marcel (@realmarcel1) April 5, 2023
“We have once again told the Prime Minister (Élisabeth Borne) that there will only be a democratic solution with the withdrawal of text. She has replied that she wants to keep it, it is a serious decision & rdquor ;, Cyril Chabanier, leader of the moderate CFTC and who spoke on behalf of the unitary coalition of all the unions, which act together for the first time since 2010.
A “useless & rdquor;
The catastrophic tie between Macron and the unions remains. The French president imposed the reform through a controversial decree on March 16, achieving a pyrrhic political victory and which has reinforced the voting intentions of the far-right Marine Le Pen. Instead, the workers’ organizations have won the sympathy of the majority of public opinion (close to 70%) and organized the largest mobilizations of the 20th centuryand in France. But they have not obtained the withdrawal of the measure, unlike what happened in other historic social struggles in the bustling neighboring country, such as in 1995, 2006 or 2018 with the revolt of the yellow vests.
The new leader of the CGT —the main French union together with the moderate CFDT—, Sophie Binet, has branded as “useless & rdquor; the meeting. She has also criticized a “Radicalized, obtuse and disconnected government & rdquor; of reality, in addition to “irresponsible & rdquor; because of the social climate it has generated. After the approval of the text through the article 49.3 of the Constitution, which allows a measure to be approved without a parliamentary vote, the wave of social protest led to a political crisis. In mid-March, riots broke out in Paris and other big cities for seven consecutive nights, but the outrage has subsided a bit since last week.
Although the meeting has not served much, Prime Minister Borne preferred to see the glass half full. “It has been a respectful conversation and in which everyone has been able to express themselves and listen to each other & rdquor ;, she declared. Despite “a disagreement about age & rdquor; of retirement, “I do not contemplate moving forward without the social actors & rdquor ;, affirmed this leader, who comes out very worn out from the pulse with the unions and whose medium-term future in Matignon is up in the air.
Eyes on the Constitutional Council
The Executive wants to turn the page on the current social conflict. He would like to talk to the unions about other, less confrontational measures. For example, discussing a new labor reform focused on the conditions of the elderly or that could also be introduced experimentally (without reducing working time) the 4-day week. Having felt slighted, union leaders are in no hurry to discuss other laws with Borne, who has remained adamant throughout the pensions fight. The authorities also rejected the union’s proposal not to apply, for the moment, the increase in the retirement age —whose gradual entry into force is scheduled for the summer— and to open a new round of negotiations.
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Macron, who began an official trip to China on Wednesday, did not participate in the meeting. The centrist leader is going through one of the worst crises of his presidency and his popularity has fallen to the lowest levels since the yellow vest revolt. But he had already said that he would not meet with the union leaders until the text is ruled on by the Constitutional Council.
The French equivalent of the Constitutional Court will announce its long-awaited decision on April 14th. According to some experts in constitutional law, it could censor the reform, after the Executive resorted to multiple legal mechanisms to approve it as quickly as possible. “It is the responsibility of the Constitutional Council (…) to understand that our democracy needs appeasement,” said Laurent Berger, general secretary of the CFDT. All eyes in France are on this body, made up of a mix of veteran magistrates and politicians.