Taking into account the reactions, the words of Emmanuel Macron, yesterday, during a televised interview, did not contribute to putting out the fire but fanned the fire. The French president defended his pension reform and said he would not back down in the face of unrelenting protests.
Little used to self-criticism, the head of state only reproached himself: “Not having managed to convince about the need for reform”. “I don’t live with regrets, I live with will, tenacity, commitment, because I love our country and our compatriots”, he affirmed, with some solemnity, in front of TF1 and France 2 journalists in the winter garden of the Elysee
The president’s tone outraged the unions and the opposition, who used very harsh adjectives. Laurent Berger, secretary general of the French Democratic Confederation of Labor (CFDT), accused Macron of “denial and lying”. Philippe Martínez, head of the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), accused him of “contempt”. The same word was used by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of La França Insubmisa (LFI, radical left). Marine Le Pen regretted “the uselessly hurtful and dangerous provocations of the president”.
Even the leader of Els Republicans (LR, traditional right), Éric Ciotti, who voted against the motion of censure on Monday, estimated that “the solutions proposed by the President of the Republic are not up to the crisis political and economic that we live”. Aurélien Pradié, also leader of LR, but who did vote for the motion to overthrow the Government, stated that Macron “does not understand the immense fractures of the nation, he does not understand that his self-satisfaction is yet another provocation”.
He certainly did not like it at all that Macron, in order to reaffirm the preeminence of representative democracy and condemn violent actions against reform, evoked the takeover of the Capitol by Trump’s supporters or the Brazilian Parliament by Bolsonaro’s supporters.
The head of the Élysée emphasized that the two-year delay in the retirement age is “a very difficult reform that gives me no pleasure”, but it is “a necessity for the country”. “We have no right to immobility”, he continued. “For years we have accustomed the country to spend and not produce, or to produce less and less”, he added.
The president reaffirmed his confidence in the prime minister, Elisabeth Borne, although without particular enthusiasm or emphasis. He entrusted Borne with the task of “expanding the majority”, a goal that is difficult and has already clearly shown its limits in the pension issue.
In an attempt to ingratiate himself with the unions, Macron announced, without giving details, that the Government would decide on an “extraordinary contribution” for large companies that obtain “extraordinary profits”. This money would go to the employees. He was also in favor of improving the conditions of older workers, a promise as well-intentioned as it is vague in a context of highly inflamed social conflict.
