French President Emmanuel Macron will hold a series of meetings on Tuesday (21) with senior executive officials and important figures from the ruling base, following the adoption of his unpopular pension reform, which continues to provoke protests.
Monday night was marked by protests, including clashes with the police and the burning of rubbish bins, in several cities after the final adoption of the bill in Parliament.
“They say that young people do not mobilize. Here we are. It’s for retirement and the rest. It’s a whole,” a student who requested anonymity told AFP during the protest in Paris. Nearly 300 people were arrested in the country, including 234 in the capital.
Hours earlier, the increase in the retirement age from 62 to 64 and the anticipation to 2027 of the contribution requirement for 43 years (against 42 previously) for the right to receive a full pension were finally approved, after the government survived two motions of censorship.
The press points out, however, that the victory by just nine votes for Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne’s government “has the taste of defeat” and the left-wing newspaper Libération points to a “political crisis” for the government.
“And now, what can Emmanuel Macron do?” asks the right-wing newspaper Le Figaro. The publication states that, despite the rejection of the motions of censure, the government remains very pressured in the “current political crisis”.
– Interview –
Macron will have a meeting with the prime minister and other influential names in his government, including Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, before talking to the presidents of the National Assembly and the Senate and other important figures in the government base.
Uncertainty dominates the news about the continuity of Borne, who on Monday declared herself “determined” to continue at the helm of the government.
“The prime minister is the only one who can carry out the government project”, declared the spokesman for the Executive, Oliver Véran.
The opposition, which gained strength with the unanimous rejection of the reform by unions and two-thirds of French people, according to polls, demands that Macron fire Borne, give up the reform or submit it to a referendum. Some even call for the dissolution of the National Assembly.
The Liberal president, 45 years old, intends to give an interview on Wednesday at 13:00 (09:00 GMT) to the television channels TF1 (private) and France 2 (public), on the eve of a trip to Brussels for a summit meeting with the leaders of the European Union.
The unions called the ninth day of demonstrations and general strike for Thursday (23), a movement that started in January. On March 7, the country recorded the biggest protest against social reform in three decades.
At the same time, occasional stoppages continue in crucial sectors such as transport and energy, which forces the government to requisition new employees due to the tons of garbage accumulated in the streets of Paris or the shortage of fuels in the southeast of France.
The government announced this Tuesday the first requisitions for personnel in the oil sector, in the Fos-sur-Mer reserve (southeast). Security forces also acted overnight in Donges (west) to unlock a terminal.
In addition to the law to raise one of the lowest retirement ages in the EU, Macron, re-elected in April last year in a runoff race with far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, faces many difficulties in applying his reformist program during the second mandate, which runs until 2027.
burs-tjc/zm/fp
#Macron #remains #pressure #approval #unpopular #pension #reform #ISTOÉ #DINHEIRO