We ask the French to make an effort and accept it,” said the Labor Minister. The unions warn that the country is experiencing a democratic crisis
By iProfessional
15/04/2023 – 11,51hs
French President Emmanuel Macronpromulgated his unpopular pension reform a few hours after receiving the endorsement of constitutional justice and despite the rejection of the unions and the opposition who called for redoubling the protests that have been taking place throughout the country for three months.
The promulgation already appears in the official gazette of the French State with the sentence “in the first paragraph (of the regulation on retirement), the word ’62’ is replaced by the word ’64′” and thus The decree that raises the retirement age came into force.
“We decided to promulgate the Law within 24 hours of the decision of the Constitutional Council, as is the case for all economic laws, and it will enter into force next September. We ask the French to make an effort and accept this reform,” Labor Minister Olivier Dussopt told the newspaper Le Parisien.
“Macron wants to intimidate all of France overnight,” lamented the left-wing opposition leader, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, with the entry into force of the reform published around 5 in the morning local time (midnight in Argentina). ), less than 12 hours after receiving the endorsement of the country’s Constitutional Council, the guarantor institution of the Magna Carta.
“The fight for the repeal of the law is now a matter of dignity,” added the founder of La Francia Insumisa (LFI) and denounced the president for showing a “display of arrogance” by promulgating the Law so quickly.
“A law enacted at night, like thieves“, the communist leader, Fabien Roussel, reacted in tune. “What a provocation! Another bluff from Macron while the country has never been so fractured,” tweeted Marine Tondelier, leader of the Europe Ecology Greens (EELV) party.
French President Emmanuel Macron enacted his unpopular pension reform
Delayed retirement age: a “legal victory” for Macron
The French Constitutional Council validated on Friday the delaying the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030 and the advancement to 2027 of the requirement to contribute 43 years, and not 42, to collect a full pension.
Although this represents a “legal victory” for the president, the French press unanimously published that it is a “pyrrhic victory” and “a disaster for the nation.”referring to the majority opposition to the reform, reported the AFP news agency.
The unions warned that France is experiencing a “democratic crisis”after the president decided in mid-March to adopt his unpopular law by decree, fearing he would lose the vote in Parliament where he lacks an absolute majority.
That decision radicalized the protests last month and, with its rapid promulgation, Macron “seems to enjoy adding more fuel to the fire,” estimated the leader of the UNSA union, Laurent Escure, for whom “nothing good will come of this.”
On Friday, after the ruling of the Constitutional, incidents were recorded in several cities such as Paris, where there were 138 detainees. In Rennes (west), the door of a police station caught fire and, in Marseille (southeast), there were riots at the train station.
The trade union centrals, the spearhead of the protests since January, have already called for an “exceptional mobilization” on May 1, on the occasion of International Workers’ Day, to march against the reform.
On Friday, after the Constitutional ruling, incidents were recorded in several cities such as Paris
Opponents are determined to continue and cling to a not so distant precedent: in 2006, protests forced the government of then-President Jacques Chirac not to apply a controversial youth contract, despite being promulgated.
The unions have already refused to meet with the government and Macron before May 1, the head of state whose popularity fell in polls to less than 30%.
Beyond the reform, which according to the Executive is to avoid a deficit of 13,000 million euros in the pension fund by 2030, the president is also playing to be able to apply his program during his second term until 2027.
