Pensions: unions angry over "contempt" for Emmanuel Macron's speech

In Lyon, railway workers are determined to continue the movement "until withdrawal", this Wednesday, March 22, the day of the televised intervention of President Macron, who for his part, said he was ready to "endorse unpopularity" to implement this reform. © Laurent Cipriani / AP

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5 min

In addition to reaffirming his objectives and not backing down on his pension reform, French President Emmanuel Macron criticized the unions during his interview with TF1 and France 2 on Wednesday (March 22nd). In unison, the unions reacted strongly, calling his remarks "contempt", "denial", "lies" of a president "on the moon". For opponents of the reform, this is one more reason to join the movement of Thursday, March 23.

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During his interview after the rescue of the government - which had engaged its responsibility to pass the text of the pension reform - French President Emmanuel Macron regretted "that no 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 ».

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 contribution period, [...] on the fact that no counter-proposals have been made."

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.

🔴 DIRECT 🗣 "There is no answer from the President of the Republic. (...) Either he has a lack of knowledge of our system and it's very serious, or he doesn't give a damn about our mouth," reacts the leader of the CGT Philippe Martinez, after the interview of Emmanuel Macron. pic.twitter.com/XYHv1ThwI9

— franceinfo (@franceinfo) March 22, 2023

Philippe 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".

► READ ALSO: Pension reform: young people are also mobilizing and want to harden the movement

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It is a provocation ", added at his side François Hommeril, the boss of the union of executives, who said overall "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. Referring to a "broken 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 blah »

Because the objective of the demonstrators remains the same: "Truce of blah blah ... we want the withdrawal, "tweeted the secretary general of Unsa Laurent Escure, lapidary.

In short: truce of blah blah ... We want the withdrawal!

— Laurent Escure (@LaurentEscure) March 22, 2023

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.

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

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

► Read also: Pensions in France: the key points of the reform

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Anecdotal ", "smoke and mirrors", according to strikers

On a picket line in Saint-Ouen (Seine-Saint-Denis), the workers of the incineration center did not take off, after following the interview, their ears glued to the mobile phone in front of their factory. Even if they didn't expect anything from speaking.

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It's anecdotal, says Nicolas, chemical technician at the waste management site. The government wants to move on, say "Pensions are over, we move on", but when he sees that people do not move on, he will wonder what he should do. There, he is just playing politics.

On the exceptional contribution of companies that have made exceptional profits to their employees, Stéphane is not convinced: "It's an abuse of language, he does not want to tax. He uses the word superprofits as a piece of language to say that he put it in his formula, but that is not going to change anything. It's smoke and mirrors, we're going to need facts, we have to act in the direction of the people.

They say they are continuing the movement, especially during Thursday's marches, where they expect to see even more protesters than two weeks ago.

REPORT: Strikers at incineration center call Macron's interview 'anecdotal' and 'smoke and mirrors'

Alexis Bedu

Freshly received proposals

The unions welcomed the president's proposal to re-engage in a dialogue with the social partners on labour in the coming weeks, with Laurent Berger speaking of "empty words". "There is a period of decency. There is even decency in the way you address your interlocutors," he told AFP.

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I think that to regain confidence, if there was confidence there was a day, [...] Three weeks is going to be short " said Philippe Martinez.

► READ ALSO: France: protesters and union denounce an increase in police violence

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• France
• Social issues
• Emmanuel Macron
• Unions
• French politics