Edouard Philippe at the end of a series of meetings with the unions on January 7, 2020 in Paris. - Jacques Witt / SIPA

  • On Saturday, the Prime Minister announced that he would withdraw from the bill the pivotal age of 64, which he intended to put in place in 2022.
  • The announcement was welcomed by three unions, which no longer call for protests, and criticized by others, who want to continue the mobilization and obtain the withdrawal of the reform.
  • This announcement allows the government to display a form of openness at low cost, by giving back the hand to the social partners, responsible for finding other solutions to guarantee the balance of the pension system.

Could three words have unlocked the crisis? By announcing on Saturday that he was "willing to withdraw" the pivotal age of the pension reform project, the Prime Minister obtained a favorable reaction from three unions: the CFDT, the CFTC and the Unsa. The situation seemed blocked since the speech of Edouard Philippe of December 11 proposing to fix at 64 years a “pivotal” age, to encourage the French to work longer. But the government has yielded very little ground, and is still gathering criticism from the CGT, FO, and even from the South.

A withdrawal ? Not quite

The pivotal age constituted a “red line” for the CFDT (first union according to 2017 data), favorable to retirement by points. The union had therefore moved to the opposition camp on December 11. On Saturday, on the 38th day of the strike, Edouard Philippe proposed to “withdraw from the bill the measure (…) consisting in gradually converging from 2022 towards an equilibrium age of 64 years in 2027”.

#Retirement: Yes the government temporarily withdraws #AgePivot but point 8 says that financial equilibrium cannot be achieved by raising contributions or lowering pensions. There is not much left as solutions ... https://t.co/575Naob00d

- Nicolas Raffin (@Nico_Raffin) January 11, 2020

For the CFDT, it is a "victory". "We ended up succeeding in convincing the government to withdraw this unjust measure, it was a bit long", underlines Mylène Jacquot, general secretary of the CFDT Civil Service, contacted by 20 Minutes .

However, "there is not much that has changed, nothing is left behind on the project," acknowledges Erwan Balanant, MP for Finistère. "There is just a reversal: before, the Prime Minister said that he was ready to withdraw the pivotal age if the unions proposed better. There, he removes it while waiting for their tracks. Roughly speaking, there is nothing new, but it changes a lot because the three reformist unions say "we are going [to negotiations]". Edouard Philippe has found a way out of the crisis, ”rejoices elected official MoDem, member of the presidential majority, with 20 Minutes .

A retreat all the more tactical as the government maintains the principle of a pivotal age which will apply from 2037 in the bill.

The possibility of orders

In addition, this half-withdrawal is conditional on the financial solutions that the social partners will have to find during the financing conference. The Prime Minister gives them three months, until the end of April (and not July as requested by the CFDT), to propose avenues guaranteeing the financial balance of the pension system, without affecting pension amounts or the cost of labor. . The government estimated that the savings accumulated in 2027 would amount to 12 billion euros if a pivotal age was put in place in 2022.

If the trade unions and employers do not find solutions together to find these 12 billion, the executive "will take the necessary measures by order to achieve balance by 2027", threatened Edouard Philippe in his letter to the social partners. The government has not ruled out restoring the pivotal age as early as 2022 as originally planned.

“He has already ruled out touching employers' contributions (…), touching money from Cades (Social Depreciation Fund), widening the base, that is to say touching capital income. What's left? In January the pivotal age disappears but in April it will return, ”says Olivier Faure, head of the Socialist Party.

The unemployment insurance scenario?

A scenario that brings back bad memories to unions. “He is redoing unemployment insurance. In the end, it is the government which will decide, including by ordinances, as stipulated in the letter, ”reacted the CGT. A position shared by FO and CFE-CGC.

In September 2018, the government had indeed asked the trade unions and employers to find an agreement on unemployment insurance between them to save more than 3 billion euros in savings over three years and fight against the explosion of contracts. short. No consensus having emerged, it had taken over and imposed a tightening of the compensation rules, described as "killing" by the CFDT.

"Of course everyone was scalded by this episode," recognizes Mylène Jacquot. “But you have to try, and be even more demanding than before, without being naive. And even if discussions fail, Edouard Philippe will take inspiration from what may have emerged as alternative solutions to the pivotal age, ”she hopes.

Accentuate union divides

Several unions and parties continue to call for mobilization to get the government bill withdrawn, with three days of action in a row on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. “The unions will dilute, they will end up with demonstrations at 50,000. They make a mistake, ”predicts Erwan Balanant. "Nothing says that the movement will stop, because this measure of the pivotal age is not necessarily decisive for people who demonstrate against the reform," nuance Stéphane Sirot, historian of trade union movements.

The number of participants in the demonstrations planned for this week will provide a first indicator of the success of this small tactical retreat. According to several polls, a majority of French people continue to support the movement against this reform.

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  • FO
  • CFDT
  • CGT
  • Union
  • Edouard Philippe
  • Government
  • Pension reform
  • Retirement