Paris (AFP)

On the threshold of a great weekend of departures before Christmas, France saw its 16th day of strike in transport on Friday against the pension reform carried by Edouard Philippe, who posted some "advances" to pull a truce from now and already compromised.

The situation at SNCF should certainly improve a little compared to the previous days, with half of the TGV and one Transilien out of four "on average" in circulation.

Small better also for RATP users, with six closed metro lines and an "overall improvement", according to the management.

But 59% of the TGV and Intercités scheduled for December 23 and 24 are canceled, and 48% of travelers who have booked will therefore have to exchange their tickets. The SNCF announcements on Friday trains running on the day and the day after Christmas are eagerly awaited.

A complete holiday break seems out of reach: if the Unsa railway, 2nd union of the SNCF, invited Thursday to "a break for school holidays", the CGT-Cheminots and SUD-Rail, 1st and 3rd union federations of the company, decided to continue the movement.

The Prime Minister for his part "called for everyone's responsibility to allow the millions of French who wish to join their families at the end of the year".

"More generous" consideration of arduousness, stretched hand over progressive retirement for civil servants, "improvements" concerning the minimum pension, real "room for maneuver" to achieve financial equilibrium, progressive reform of the systems special ... After two days of meetings in Matignon with unions and employers, Edouard Philippe said Thursday evening that the discussions had allowed "concrete progress", and promised new meetings in "the first days of January".

But the head of government is far from having convinced all the social partners.

Even for unions favorable to reform, the account is not there. The CFDT, recalled its number one Laurent Berger, remains "firmly opposed" to the "age of balance", accompanied by a bonus-malus, which the government wants to introduce in 2022 and set at 64 years in 2027 to encourage everyone to work longer and clean up the accounts.

- Battle of undecided opinion -

"The balance must be worked," insisted Laurent Escure (Unsa), regretting that the government accepts "no new criteria" of arduousness.

"The only concrete thing is that the Prime Minister did not hear the street," said Philippe Martinez.

On behalf of the inter-union formed by the CGT, FO, the FSU, Solidaires and four youth organizations, the CEGEP leader called for a new "powerful" day of strikes and interprofessional demonstrations on January 9.

The government claims "to want to relaunch a cycle of discussions", which is "dead end in a framework of constrained budgetary balance", underlined in a press release the inter-union, for which "the only solution is to withdraw without delay" a "regressive" reform project.

A "bad project", both "useless" and "dangerous", added François Hommeril (CFE-CGC), who will also "perhaps call January 9".

Emmanuel Macron, for his part, monitors the future of a key reform of his five-year term without expressing himself directly. However, he said on Wednesday that he was "willing" to "improve" the project, which must be sent to the Council of State before Christmas and presented to the Council of Ministers on January 22.

Certain sectors of activity are starting to suffer from the strike, notably Parisian trade with declines in turnover from 25% to 30% last week, according to Procos, the federation of specialized trade.

The battle for public opinion remains undecided between the government and the strikers, in the light of recent polls from which no winner has yet emerged.

Distrust has grown towards reform, according to an Elabe poll for BFMTV released Wednesday. Nearly six in ten French people (57%) opposed it, a figure that increased by eight points in a week.

But it is more the project of establishing a pivotal or equilibrium age, more than the project of a universal system, which crystallizes the discontent.

© 2019 AFP