During confinement, he told himself that it could be "put aside": the pension reform, hotly contested several months ago in France, should finally be put back on track, as suggested on Thursday 2 July, Emmanuel Macron in an interview with several dailies of the regional press.

"Is the pension reform to be put in the trash? No. It would be a mistake," insisted the French president, who also hinted that he was in favor of extending the duration of contributions, a parameter up to 'here dismissed.

"This reform cannot be resumed unchanged at the end of the crisis, but the question of the number of years during which we contribute remains raised," maintains Emmanuel Macron. "We cannot be a country that wants independence, social, economic and environmental recovery and be one of the countries where we work the least throughout life in Europe."

On the other hand, when asked whether or not to maintain the pivotal age at 64, dear to his Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, he only replied: "I am open to (reform) being transformed".

"No abandonment of a pension reform"

Emmanuel Macron also reaffirmed that "the second line, the delivery men, the cashiers" is "France losing from the current pension system", which would gain from a universal points system. 

But the second subject, he continued, will be that of "financial balances". "I will ask the government to quickly re-engage in-depth consultation, in a dialogue of responsibility associating the social partners from the summer on this aspect of financial balances," he said.

"All of this must be put on the table" but "there will be no abandonment of a pension reform," insisted the French president.

On all of his reforms, Emmanuel Macron also acknowledged that he had "(s) aside from clumsiness. I sometimes considered that it was necessary to go quickly on certain reforms".

With AFP

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