• France: Unions keep the strike against the Macron reform alive with mass demonstrations

The French Government on Saturday softened its pension reform project, by withdrawing the retirement reference age at 64 , the point demanded by the most dialogic unions to enter into negotiations.

The Prime Minister, Édouard Philippe, sent a letter to the social partners in which, however, he says that unions and employers must agree to find a financing formula for the new retirement system, without lowering pensions or increasing contributions Employers

They will have to do it in a financing conference that will meet at the end of the month and that must end before the end of April, so that their conclusions can be integrated into the final process of the parliamentary approval of the new law.

Philippe warned that the social partners must make proposals that allow the system to be balanced on the horizon of 2027 and assured that, in case of not reaching an agreement, "the Government will face its responsibilities . "

The prime minister indicated that it will be necessary to set a retirement reference age, although he let it be the social negotiations that set it.

He also indicated that negotiations should be open on other points of the reform , such as the danger of certain trades, the employment of seniors and the management of the final career of officials.

The gesture of the Government coincided with the fifth day of demonstrations convened throughout the country against pension reform and received unequally by unions.

The CFDT reformist union, whose leader, Laurent Berger, had demanded the eve of withdrawing the reference age of 64 , considered it a positive step and promised to open negotiations as soon as possible.

The most radical CGT, for its part, assured that this gesture of the Government is not enough and once again requested the total withdrawal of the reform.

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