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Prime Minister Édouard Philippe at his press conference on pension reform on December 6, 2019 at the Hôtel de Matignon in Paris. AFP Photos / Bertrand Guay

After two years of consultations, six days of strikes and demonstrations in France, the Prime Minister reveals on Wednesday, December 11, his pension reform - and compromises that the executive is ready, or not, to give in an attempt to calm the anger .

Édouard Philippe will present at mid-day the outline of the pension reform. A long awaited moment before which the unions tried to maintain the pressure, organizing yesterday a second day of demonstration . The mobilization remains strong, although it was less important than last week, and the strike continues to paralyze transport.

" No magic ads ," warns Édouard Philippe

Édouard Philippe acknowledged this Tuesday, there will be no " magic announcements " in the speech he will deliver at noon. A final meeting took place in the evening at the Elysee, where Emmanuel Macron received ministers and officials of the majority to take stock of the upcoming announcements. " Whatever the Prime Minister says, it will not be likely to defuse the strike completely, says one of the participants at RFI. It will drag on until Christmas. "

For the executive, the challenge is not to convince the irreducible of the SNCF and the RATP , analysis Valérie Gas , Deputy Chief of the political department of RFI. They have already said: they want the withdrawal of the reform. The objective of Emmanuel Macron is to reassure the French who still mostly support the movement, and to convince at least some of them of the merits of the reform. Even if, in the majority, we refuse to say that we are waiting for the "rottenness" of the movement, it is a question of shifting public opinion.

Which concessions to expect?

A first avenue envisaged is the postponement of the implementation of the reform. It should apply to employees aged 56 today: they would eventually be spared. The new system would concern generations born in 1975 or later. Assets that are now up to 44 years old, and therefore have more time to prepare for this deadline.

Second track, proposed now: a revaluation of teachers' salaries, officials most penalized by the recalculation of retirement. The transition would also be arranged for the special schemes, which have the most to lose in this universal system.

Finally, the Prime Minister could waive the postponement of the legal retirement age, which is now set at 62 years. This would be an abdication for Édouard Philippe, but also the magic word expected by the CFDT, analysis Dominique Baillard , RFI's economy service. The only union initially acquired to this reform became very suspicious and dumb, because of the persistent vagueness surrounding this major reform of the five-year period.

Despite this vagueness, it is certain that Emmanuel Macron was behind the scenes maneuver and that there are imperatives for the President of the Republic, says Valérie Gas . First and foremost is a pension reform that eliminates special regimes, and allows the transition to a universal system by points. With a message, explains a leader of the majority: " that there are only winners ". It is up to Édouard Philippe to come up with this complicated task, which will surely require compromise.

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