Dialogue, finally? The unions, determined to talk about pensions, are expected next week in Matignon, before a day of mobilization on April 6 and while the Constitutional Council will decide on the reform on April 14.

In the aftermath of a 10th day of action less provided and also less chaotic than expected, unions and executive give themselves a little air to reduce the tension with the prospect of this meeting unseen for weeks, while the conflict in the street has entered its third month. From there to consider a way out of the crisis? There is a long way to go and the inter-union has planned an 11th day of action on April 6.

The Constitutional Council will make its decisions on the controversial reform on Friday, April 14, "at the end of the day," he announced Wednesday. On the constitutionality of the bill adopted and on the admissibility of the request for a referendum of shared initiative (RIP) launched by the left.

>> Read: Demonstrations, Constitutional Council, referendum... What is the follow-up to the pension reform?

On Tuesday, the Ministry of the Interior counted 740,000 demonstrators in France, including 93,000 in Paris, the CGT "more than 2 million" including 450,000 in the capital.

Before the new day of 6 April, the unions have an appointment with Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne. Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday? "The date is clearly looming Wednesday" April 5, replied the number 2 of the CFDT, Marylise Léon, Wednesday evening on the set of BFM TV, adding: "we are expected in interunion" and "almost all organizations have responded favorably". Matignon did not confirm the date of April 5, saying he had not yet received all the responses.

In particular, there remains uncertainty about the CGT, in the middle of the congress and whose name will be known on Friday of the new secretary general to succeed Philippe Martinez. But within the CGT, voices were raised Wednesday to say that responding to the invitation of Elisabeth Borne would be "a waste of time". For Marylise Léon, "the challenge is to seize this outstretched hand" of the executive, because "it was an aberration that neither the Prime Minister, nor the President, nor even the Minister of Labour wished to meet the inter-union".

"Behind us"

Wednesday, on France Info, the number one of the CFDT Laurent Berger insisted as the day before on his desire to put the subject of pensions on the table, warning: "If I am told: 'You can not talk about it' (...) They'll leave the room or we'll leave." The union official again put forward the mediation proposal whose hypothesis had been swept away by government spokesman Olivier Véran on Tuesday.

The Minister of Relations with Parliament, Franck Riester, and the president of the MoDem, François Bayrou, warned Wednesday that the issue of raising the legal retirement age would not be on the menu. The postponement from 62 to 64 years, "it is the heart of the reform on which, from the beginning, there is no agreement," said Frenck Riester, hoping that the exchange is organized around "subjects on which we agree".

"The 64 years are in the text," added François Bayrou, "we can not change line at this point". "The text, it is behind us," decided for his part the deputy Renaissance Sylvain Maillard in front of the press.

In public opinion, the mobilization remains mostly approved (63%), according to an Elabe poll for BFMTV published on Wednesday, which shows that the executive is perceived as the main responsible for the social conflict at 62% (+ 9 points since March 10).

"Boomerang"

If they do take place, will the reunion between government and unions only stage a dialogue of the deaf? The secretary general of Unsa, Laurent Escure, warned Wednesday on Twitter of the risks of disappointment, with an effect that would be "disastrous" and a day of the 6th that would "take another turn".

"If Ms. Borne only creates a media staging (...), it will come back like a boomerang in the face," also warned LFI MP Alexis Corbière. On the right, Aurélien Pradié (LR) also believed that "if the government accepts dialogue it is to really dialogue, not to pretend".

With AFP

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