The unions and left-wing political forces again attacked the French president, Emmanuel Macronfor his decision to promulgate the unpopular pension reform law during the early morning this Saturday, hours after it was ratified by the Constitutional Council and despite having 15 days to do so.
“Macron wanted to intimidate all of France overnight. Thief of life! Absurd display of arrogance. The fight to withdraw the law is now a matter of dignity”, the leftist leader wrote on his Twitter account Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
The reform, which Delays retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030 and the requirement to contribute 43 years, and not 42, from 2027 to collect a full pension, was promulgated at the 4 a.m. (local time) and published this morning in the Official Gazette of the French Republic.
The announcement was greeted with boos by the approximately 3,000 people who demonstrated in front of the Paris City Hall, according to the news agency AFP. Macron is expected to address the French on Monday to discuss the reform. It will be the second time that he has done so, after the interview in which he participated on public television on March 22.
In this way, the text, which affects those born after 1961, will be available to enter into force next September. According to surveys cited by the news agency EFE, two out of three French people reject the project.
The nocturnal promulgation, while most French people were asleep, also angered the unions, who, together with the left-wing parties, led the street protests that have taken place since Macron proposed the reform three months ago. Last night they registered new incidents and arrests in Paris and Rennes.
The French Democratic Confederation of Labor (CFDT) called to continue the protests despite the promulgation of the text. “There is a lot of anger and you have to express it. It has been expressed for three months in a very dignified manner and it will continue to be expressed, even with the promulgation,” said the union secretary, Yvan Ricordeauin statements to the radio RMC.
The CFDT and the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) they rejected Macron’s invitation next Tuesday at the Élysée Palace, seat of the French Presidency. “No union organization will meet at any time with the Executive to discuss anything other than the withdrawal of the pension reform,” they declared.
In addition, the unions called for a “exceptional mobilization” on May 1a day that commemorates International Workers’ Day.
It drew attention that the main opponent of the president, the far-right Marine Le Pen, did not refer to the promulgation of the text this morning on his Twitter account. Instead, she posted a message on the fourth anniversary of the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral.
“On April 15, 2019, Notre-Dame de Paris was on fire. The French people, shocked by this terrible tragedy, entered into communion and showed the whole world their unity. I want to greet all those who, for four years, have been mobilizing to restore Notre Dame,” Le Pen wrote.
However, the far-right, who, according to AFPconsiders that the reform marks the definitive break between the French people and Macrondid express himself on Twitter prior to the enactment of the law.
“If the decision of the Constitutional Council closes the institutional sequence, the political fate of the pension reform is not sealed. Since the people still have the last word, it will correspond to prepare the alternative that reverses this useless and unfair reform”, indicated the deputy on Friday afternoon.
(With information from EFE, Europa Press and AFP)
Keep reading: