Emmanuel Macron regretted "that no trade union force has proposed a compromise", particularly targeting the CFDT. He also castigated the "factious", the "violence", and seemed to minimize the "protests", saying that "these protests (...) With each pension reform, we have them and sometimes in much greater numbers."

These remarks are "" and "contempt" vis-à-vis the "millions of people who demonstrate", responded the secretary general of the CGT, Philippe Martinez.

"It's lunar this interview. It is: everything is fine, I do everything well, nothing happens in the street," he denounced in front of journalists in Tours.

Mr. Martinez also considered it "truly scandalous" to "compare the situation in France with what happened in the United States" following the election of Joe Biden and "the invasion of the Capitol by hordes of Americans rather far right".

CFE-CGC President François Hommeril (C) with CFDT Secretary General Laurent Berger (R) on March 11, 2023 in Paris © Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP/Archives

"It's a provocation," added François Hommeril, the boss of the union of executives, who said he was generally "very shocked" by the interview of the head of state.

"I'm tired of these lessons of responsibility," said the president of the CFE-CGC. Evoking a "scratched record", he added that Emmanuel Macron was doing "as if nothing had happened for two months, as if the Earth had stopped turning".

"He went to the moon, maybe he was with Thomas Pesquet, I don't know, somewhere in the space shuttle...", he squeaked.

"Truce of blah"

The secretary general of the CFDT Laurent Berger accused the President of the Republic of "denial" and "lying": "on the fact that there would be responsibility only in one camp, on the fact that the CFDT would have proposed to its congress an increase in the duration of contributions, (...) on the fact that we (would not) have made counter-proposals".

The secretaries general of FO Frédéric Souillot (L), the CFDT Laurent Berger (C) and the CGT Philippe Martinez, on February 11, 2023 in Paris © Christophe ARCHAMBAULT / AFP / Archives

"Truce of blah... we want the withdrawal," tweeted the secretary general of Unsa, Laurent Escure, lapidary.

The president of the CFTC, Cyril Chabanier, denounced on the same social network a speech "above ground". "We were waiting for a session of self-criticism and questioning of the method, we were entitled to a satisfaction embellished with criticism of the unions, the oppositions, and generally of all those who would be against the reform. The president stubbornly isolates himself," he said.

"Treating with contempt the formidable mobilization engaged since January 19, the President of the Republic confirmed a hard-line attitude on the pension reform," FO denounced in a statement.

The FSU pointed to an "irresponsible and provocative" intervention while Solidaires accused the president of having chosen "the headlong rush".

The unions have welcomed the president's proposal to re-engage in the coming weeks a dialogue with the social partners on work, Laurent Berger speaking of "empty words".

"There is a decency period. There is even decency in the way you address your interlocutors," he told AFP.

"I think that to regain confidence, if there was confidence there was a day, (..) three weeks is going to be short," Martinez said.

© 2023 AFP