Almost 30 years after the Juppé reform of 1995, Emmanuel Macron has achieved the feat of convincing as many French people, if not more, to take to the streets everywhere in France against his pension reform. This coup de brilliance by the unions and its political opposition will however have to be confirmed in the coming weeks.
On December 12, 1995, a million demonstrators were angry against Alain Juppé’s pension reform. Double according to the unions. January 19, 2023, slightly more than a million people throughout France, according to the Ministry of the Interior, more than two million, according to the CGT. As always, the numbers differ. But undeniably, France was in the street this Thursday. Everywhere, in all major cities.
Say no to Emmanuel Macron
With a single watchword: say no to Emmanuel Macron and his pension reform. Objective also in the short term: to make the Government back down on the proposed text. Already, a new date is proposed, that of next January 31, in less than two weeks, so as not to release the pressure. And show that the movement is massive and durable. Will the executive take into account the disarray, the anger of the people? For now, Emmanuel Macron is in Spain.
On the sidelines of a summit with our European neighbour, the Head of State made it known that he did not intend to give in, repeating over and over again that his reform is fair and responsible and validated by the French on occasion. of his re-election less than a year ago. Yes of course. But an electoral victory does not prevent dialogue, negotiation. When a non-negligible fringe and all the intermediary bodies reject the characteristics of a reform outright, there is reason to wonder.
You can’t be right against everyone. Of course, advances in science and medicine offer a longer life expectancy. It is true that all European countries, with a few exceptions, have at the same time lowered the retirement age. But today and now, France does not want it. It may therefore be time to ease tensions, to start from scratch. Political intelligence also means accepting one’s failure, even temporary. To better bounce back and finally achieve a collective victory.
This article is originally published on objectifgard.com
