“This will not make us go back”: the Executive continues to believe in its reform despite the strong mobilization

At the end of this second day of inter-union mobilization against the pension reform, it is not about panicking on the part of the Executive.

“There are more people, it’s true, but it’s not exponential,” says a majority leader on BFMTV. A minister adds: “The success of January 19 explains this progress.”

In fact, according to the police, 1.272 million protesters registered today in France, compared to 1.12 million on January 19. A few minutes before, the CGT announced that it had counted 2.8 million people in the streets, or 800,000 more than twelve days before.

So the government’s strategy is to make this second day of mobilization a null event and, above all, not to dramatize it. “The figures do not surprise me, it was expected. But the reform does not seem likely to cause an apolitical popular social movement in the spirit of the yellow vests,” confides a majority framework.

“We have an alert point, however, qualifies an adviser, these are the profiles of the protesters. There are French people who are not usually in the processions”.

The black stage excluded

In spite of everything, nobody at the top of the state believes in the “dark scenario” and everyone is looking for the slightest reason for hope.

First, by looking at the number of strikers among civil servants. “As this number is falling, it would be difficult for them to start a renewable strike. If there is a big demonstration every ten days, that will not make us go back”, a government source believes to know.

“The issue for us is the strikers, and therefore the risk of blocking. And there it goes down ”, an adviser still abounds.

Another reason for hope: the calendar. Now all eyes will be on the Assembly. “The rest happens in parliament. If there is a vote, it saves us”, expects a deputy.

“Questions and Doubts”

This second point explains Elisabeth Borne’s tweet on Tuesday night, which insists on political debates: “The pension reform raises questions and doubts. We listen to them. The parliamentary debate opens. It will allow, in transparency, to enrich our project with one objective: to ensure the future of our delivery system”.

After having lost the battle of public opinion and that of the unions, the executive then clings to a single branch: that of the Assembly.

A fragile branch, because, today, a vote of the deputies in favor of the reform seems less and less assured.