He defends his reform and gives arguments to his lieutenants. Emmanuel Macron received extensively this Thursday morning the ministers Éric Dupond-Moretti, Gérald Darmanin and members of the Law Commission of the National Assembly. On the menu: the justice plan and the future immigration law, but above all pensions.
First message sent by the president, considered “combative” by his guests: that of humility, according to information from BFMTV.
Flexibility in discussions
“We still ask the French to work longer,” admitted the tenant of the Elysée.
Although the retirement age of 64 years is the subject of massive rejection by the population according to various surveys, the Head of State called on ministers and deputies to show flexibility in their discussions with voters.
The President also insisted on the need to recognize that this reform does represent an additional effort linked to the need to finance the system. The method is intended to avoid any disconnection lawsuit directed at Macronie, one of the recurring critics of the president’s first term.
“Not techno but pedagogues”
Emmanuel Macron also urged the presidential majority to “not be techno but pedagogues.” And insist on the language elements that Élisabeth Borne and Olivier Dussopt, the Labor Minister who will defend the reform before Parliament, have already declined.
The president thus recalled the 3 possible paths for him: first, to increase employer or worker contributions – rejected by the executive who refuses to “increase the cost of labor.” Another option: that of lowering pensions -politically unthinkable for Macronie after the retirees’ complaints about the rise in the CSG in 2018- and finally lowering the retirement age.
The Head of State also insisted on the European comparison, judging that France’s neighbors have chosen to delay the retirement age. If Germany, Spain and Belgium leave their active population later, several countries align with the French system such as Norway or Sweden with 62 years.
“Give meaning to the collective”
To make a complex reform understandable, the president also insisted on the importance of words, and called on his lieutenants to avoid using excessively technical terms. For example, it is not about talking about the “minimum contributory” to talk about the pension of 1,200 euros for current and future retirees (from which 9% of social security contributions will have to be deducted) but about “retirement minimum”. .
While the left and the unions have notably lamented the fate of those who entered the world of work before the age of 18 – some of whom will now be forced to work 44 years instead of the current 43 to benefit from a full pension – Emmanuel Macron wants to “give meaning to the collective, to the civic”.
“Illusive” to imagine an ideal moment to reform
To convince, the president therefore urged his majority to revoke the operation of the pay-as-you-go pension, which is based on solidarity between generations.
Faced with a united union front for the first time in 12 years and strike calls from the RATP, SNCF and the refinery sector on January 19, the president did not deny the difficulties ahead. However, he considered it “illusory” to believe that there would be an ideal moment to defend the reform.
Traveling to Seine-et-Marne this Thursday morning, Elisabeth Borne had received 5 out of 5 Elysian messages, assuring “continue working to convince” the French.
Source: BFM TV
