Paris (AFP)

The Secretary General of the CFDT, Laurent Berger, said Thursday on BFMTV that it was necessary "to find the way of the dialogue", suggesting the government to reunite the unions favorable to a universal system of retirement, which all rocked Wednesday in the camp opponents following the Prime Minister's announcements.

"I'm ready to discuss, obviously we want to discuss," he said.

"The Prime Minister could bring together all the unions and employers to take stock of the situation (...) All those who want to enroll in a universal pension reform it would be nice to ask them to come and talk", he said.

"We must find the path of dialogue," he continued.

But, he said, "to want to be constructive, it does not mean to let oneself walk on it". "If the question is you come to discuss and we will see how we apply + the age of equilibrium +, the answer is no," he said. "We will not do the job of unemployment insurance, we will not do it twice," he warned.

Between December 17 and the arrival of the text in January "we have time to discuss".

Favorable to the principle of a universal pension system, the CFDT is standing up against the establishment of an age of equilibrium at age 64 and wants the government to withdraw this measure.

"It was not the promise of the President of the Republic," he said. He also reiterated that the CFDT wanted the hardship criteria withdrawn in July 2017 from the hardship account, which became a prevention account, to be reinstated.

After the announcements of Edouard Philippe on Wednesday, the CFDT called to protest on December 17, the date of mobilization chosen by the Intergovernmental CGT, FO, Solidaires, FSU and youth organizations, for a major event.

Laurent Berger said he would be "not in the box head behind a banner that says no systemic reform", alongside Philippe Martinez (CGT) or Yves Veyrier (FO) who ask for the withdrawal of the reform.

"I think the French did not understand what was happening, as early as 2022," he said.

The French born before 1975 "will not be concerned" by the future universal pension system, but the government wants to put in place from 2022, from the generation born in 1960, an "age of equilibrium" that will reach 64 years in 2027.

© 2019 AFP