Paris (AFP)
The Secretary of State to the Minister of Economy, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, recalled on Saturday that the pivotal age at 64 for retirement was "negotiable", stressing that negotiations remained open.
The pivotal age at 64, the Prime Minister "does not say that it is absolute, that it is not negotiable, he says it is a proposal, it is negotiable and our door is open", a- she said, when asked about BFMTV.
"It is not a question of hindsight, it is a question of objective: that initially young people do not leave with an unbalanced system because they will be lied to. There are different ways of doing it, and we believe that the best way is this pivotal age, "said the Secretary of State.
"The Prime Minister indicated that if we want to carry out a systemic reform to the end, it must be balanced, that is to say that we do not start by distorting the parameters, by allowing those who are the oldest to leave quietly, when the youngest have no guarantee that their retirement will be financed, because in fact we are cheating from the start, "she added.
"Our hand is outstretched," said Pannier-Runacher again.
Negotiations will take place "at the beginning of the week", she recalled, referring to the discussions that took place on Friday: "When we negotiate with the SNCF and the CGT does not come to the negotiating table c 'is an observation (...), it takes two to negotiate ".
"We are also working to get the French to leave at Christmas, so that the trains will work," and that the Christmas holidays will be "as peaceful as possible," added the secretary of state.
The government has been trying since Thursday to bring back to the negotiating table the CFDT, very hostile to the "age of equilibrium" (or pivotal age), whose gradual establishment was announced by Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, to reach 64 years old in 2027, with a bonus / penalty system.
© 2019 AFP