A high tension relationship between two men who undoubtedly have the keys to get out of the crisis. The tone has risen again in the last hours between Emmanuel Macron and Laurent Berger, the number 1 of the CFDT, while the inter-union marched this Thursday for the 11th time against the pension reform that the President of the Republic wants.
Since his trip to China, Emmanuel Macron’s entourage regretted this Wednesday afternoon that “for the first time in its history”, the union “did not present another project” for pension reform.
“The only answer was nothing,” said the head of state.
Berger asks Macron to “calm his nerves”
Nor is it about talking about a “democratic crisis” as the trade unionist raised, after the approval by 49.3 of the pension reform and the rejection of public opinion to increase the legal retirement age from 62 to 64 years . “We cannot speak of a democratic crisis when the project has been carried out, explained and assumed”, responded the entourage of the President of the Republic.
Suffice it to say that just hours after a brief meeting at Matignon, the first since the bill was introduced in mid-January, the Élysée hasn’t really turned any corners.
“I call on the President of the Republic so that he does not issue small sentences. Otherwise, he will end up alienating all the union organizations, ”Laurent Berger estimated Wednesday night on BFMTV, asking Emmanuel Macron to“ calm his nerves ”.
“We underestimate the opposition of the CFDT”
This gun pass is far from the first. During his interview on TF1 and France 2 in mid-March, the Head of State accused – without naming him – the reformist union of not having “proposed any compromise” and stated that Laurent Berger had “attended his congress to propose increasing terms ( listing)”.
The CFDT leader had then accused him of “denial” and “lying”, believing that he wanted there “hide his inability to find a majority to vote for his unjust reform”.
“I think we underestimated the CFDT’s opposition to the reform. We really weren’t used to that,” a Macronista deputy told BFMTV.com.
During Macron’s previous five-year term, the union had supported Muriel Pénicaud’s work orders, which, however, were heavily contested by some of the unions. The central defender also did not hesitate to approach the executive during the yellow vest crisis.
Focus on the decision of the Constitutional Council
Laurent Berger has also offered the Executive a way out of the crisis by asking it to put the reform “on hold” and by allowing mediation, with a strategy quite similar to that of the previous five-year period.
After the adoption of the pension reform by points in 49.3, despite large-scale mobilizations, Édouard Philippe, then at Matignon, agreed to suspend the fundamental age of 64 and organize a “financing conference” to review the reform.
But the Élysée remains determined to enforce its project. The presidency still judges that the reform is already suspended, pending the decision of the Constitutional Council on April 14. And hope that the reform is validated to a large extent by the Elders so that it can then be promulgated and applied at the end of the summer, as the presidency wishes.
“They need to talk to each other”
Emmanuel Macron also said he was ready to meet with the unions in “the next few weeks”, after the institution’s verdict. Suffice it to say that the president should dismiss the issue of pensions to talk about a future labor law.
The CFDT has already hinted that “as long as the law is not promulgated, mobilization remains possible,” said Marylise Léon, deputy general secretary of the union.
However, many in the ranks of the presidential majority hope that Emmanuel Macron will pick up the thread of discussions with Laurent Berger.
“The question is not: can they talk to each other? Obviously, they have to talk to each other!” advances the Renaissance deputy Gilles Legendre in the columns of the Parisian.
“Conflicts find a solution when each one takes a step towards the other”, continues judging the Modem deputy Erwan Balanant on our antenna.
The Renaissance deputy Louis Margueritte, close to Bruno Le Maire, for his part, highlighted the discussions between the CFDT and the elected macronistas on the distribution of employee benefits in their companies to explain that the dialogue is not broken. Meanwhile, the inter-union already calls for a new day of mobilization for April 13. On the eve of the announcement of the decision of the Constitutional Council.
Source: BFM TV
