The new pension reform proposed by Emmanuel Macron - retirement age at 65, abolition of special regimes - will be "less upsetting" than that of 2020, "too anxiety-provoking", declared, Friday March 18 in Pau, the president -candidate.

"The universal system changed the rules too much, it was too anxiety-provoking", he admitted during a meeting with readers from the South-West and the Republic of the Pyrenees on a dozen themes - health, climate, relocation, purchasing power...

One of the differences will be not to modify the reference period on which the retirement of civil servants is calculated (the last six months), while the 2020 project planned to unify the rules with those of private sector employees (the 25 best years), he explained.

He considered it desirable to have “the same reference period for everyone”, “but it is not accepted. It disturbed people’s minds too much. , explained Emmanuel Macron, who however hopes "to carry out this project in parallel but while preserving the consensus".

"Take time for consensus"

The 2020 reform had come up against a barrage of fire from the social partners and had triggered a vast movement of strikes before being buried at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"We must take the time for consensus", this reform, "I submit it, universal suffrage will be a justice of the peace", he added.

"It is clear that there will be opposition, it will be my job to unite, to hold the ends of the chain".

"But we need to make this reform" in view of the deficit of the system, insisted the outgoing president.

If we do not want to lower pensions or increase contributions "there is only one lever, it is to work longer".

Welcomed by his ally the mayor of Pau Français Bayrou, the president-candidate also once again assumed his criticized formula of "first of the rope", considering that there were "only people who do not know the mountain who think it's an individualistic image".

He was then arrested by a high school student, Anna, who criticized, "in the name of angry young people", his ecological record, accusing him of "not having respected the Paris Agreements" and of having "given in to the great capital".

"We are afraid of our future," she told him.

"I need youth, I need outrage and action, but not anxiety," he replied.

“Anxiety does not allow you to have a useful action, I am rather for eco-lucidity”, he launched.

He defended himself from being "captive" of big companies and lobbies.

"I am very free, I am captive to you, it is not the big groups that elect the president".

During his visit, about fifteen people, including several yellow vests, demonstrated in front of the town hall.

A woman who was filming with her phone was also evacuated from the room half an hour before the arrival of Emmanuel Macron, whom she wanted to question about his childcare problems.

"She presented herself as a journalist when it was false and began to insult participants and guests," according to a spokeswoman for the campaign team.

With AFP

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