A few hours before the verdict of the Constitutional Council on the pension reform, the Prime Minister was taken to task by opponents in a supermarket in Eure-et-Loir.
“The 49.3, we don’t want it”. Between the shelves of baby diapers and frozen foods, several opponents of the pension reform heckled Elisabeth Borne’s visit to a supermarket in Eure-et-Loir, where she was however able to exchange with customers on this theme and that dear life.
Coming to talk about purchasing power in the Hyper U of Hips, a small town of 2,600 inhabitants, the Prime Minister first had to change doors to enter the store, where some CGT activists were waiting for her near the checkouts.
“We wanted to make him a welcoming committee,” explains the trade unionist Fernand Carré.
“If this evening (the decision of the Constitutional Council on the pension reform, editor’s note) does not go in the direction of the demonstrators, we do not know at all how it will evolve”, he warns.
“It’s going to calm down”
Elisabeth Borne was therefore unable to greet the cashiers as planned but had the anti-inflation basket explained to her by the president of the Système U brand Dominique Schelcher. “It’s at cost price” and “we take on our margins”, underlines the latter.
But passing near the gardening department, opponents of the pension reform begin to shout. “We don’t want 64-year-olds, Madame Borne”, or even, it’s “provocation”.
Imperturbable, the Prime Minister continues on her way, to the department of baby diapers with the leader of System U.
“49.3 we don’t want it”, then chants a woman with an anti-Covid mask on her face, quickly dismissed by the security services.
Elisabeth Borne stops near a shopping cart filled with charcoal, held by a pensioner who finds that the price increase is “very hard”. “It will calm down. We are very aware of these concerns”, replies the head of government, before wishing him a “good barbecue”.
“My priority is to appease”
“It’s nice to see you”, smiles at her address a host in the cleaning department, when suddenly demonstrators sing “we’re here” before being moved away from the procession.
Arrived at the fruit and vegetable stand, the Prime Minister is delighted that the prices of the products of the brands participating in the “anti-inflation quarter”, launched at the beginning of March, have fallen by an average of 5%.
It is “highly possible that (the challenge, editor’s note) will continue”, admits the Minister Delegate for SME Olivia Grégoire, who accompanies Élisabeth Borne. But she underlines, “out of five people we met, three were against and two ladies supported the reform. We are not at 5-0!”.
Weakened since the use of 49.3, Elisabeth Borne “measures anger” but assures that it “does not prevent (him) from (moving)”.
“That’s why my priority is to appease and respond to the very concrete concerns of the French” such as purchasing power, she pleads, announcing that the minimum wage will increase “a little more than 2%” on May 1.
The Prime Minister also says she wants “that discussions can begin with employers’ organizations and trade unions” on “many measures provided for in this reform”. And she also invites companies to “renegotiate salary scales” after inflation in March was a little stronger than expected.
As she leaves, Élisabeth Borne meets Annie, 23, looking for a job, who tells her that she “does not agree with the 64-year-old” and is worried about the future of her eight-month-old daughter. , in a pram.
“If we want pensions tomorrow (…), we have to work a little longer,” replied the Prime Minister. But before “we have to help you find a job”.
