Jacques Serais 09:12, January 20, 2023

Between one and two million people mobilized this Thursday to oppose the pension reform.

A victory for the unions, but not for the government, which did not seem to expect such a massive mobilization, if we are to believe the words of Olivier Véran last week.

Would the executive be under pressure?

Save the date.

Tuesday, January 31, another day of demonstration planned against the pension reform.

This Thursday, more than a million people marched in the streets, according to the Ministry of the Interior.

The double according to the CGT, which intends to surf on this first success.

The objective of the unions: to make the government give in.

How does the executive manage this pressure?

A tougher standoff than imagined

For the ministers, the instructions remain the same: explain again and again the challenges of this reform in the media and on the ground, "which is not the most obvious", concedes a macronie strategist, a little struck by what he saw on Thursday.

Because the words of Olivier Véran last week resonate and come back like a boomerang.

>> Find all the editorial newspapers of Europe 1 in replay and podcast here

"We won't move, we can't"

"The government does not project itself into the idea of ​​​​a massive mobilization", explained the government spokesperson.

"We presented the reform saying that basically, the French were resigned, that there would be little opposition", recognizes a deputy.

Now, the tone is set and it is clear: that of a showdown much tougher than initially imagined.

>> READ ALSO

- Pensions: what is article 47.1, which the executive could use to pass its reform?

However, at this stage, this does not change the content and agenda of the reform.

"We will not move, we cannot. Otherwise, the president will lose all credibility for the next four years", summarizes an adviser to the executive.

The text will therefore be presented to the Council of Ministers on Monday.

It will arrive in the Social Affairs Committee at the Assembly on January 30 and will be examined in the hemicycle on February 6, as planned.