At night, Macron signed the pension law – strong feedback

AP Photo/Louis Jolly, Baraka

15.04.2023, 11:13

The announcement that the country’s president, Emmanuel Macron, had signed “in the middle of the night” the pension reform law, against which a large majority of citizens and the entire opposition stood, sparked great reactions in France.

Citizens’ anger mounts and culminates with the French president, who has made pension reform the centerpiece of his political legacy, from the outset addressing citizens’ demands and reactions. To pass the pension reform bill, he chose to bypass parliament and pass it by presidential decree.

The signature of the French President came in the early hours of Saturday morning after the Constitutional Council’s decision in favor of the controversial reform at noon on Friday, which led to repeated demonstrations in several major cities in the country and in some cases led to accidents and clashes. between protesters with policemen.

Opposition parties and trade unions had called on Emmanuel Macron not to sign the law, arguing that it would be a “provocation”, while declaring that they would continue to fight not to implement it, calling for mobilization. and demonstrations.

It should be noted that the Constitutional Council also rejected the request for a referendum (a similar request is still pending), which further angered politicians, the opposition and trade unions.

Since the law raising the retirement age from 64 (under certain circumstances this can also mean retiring at 67) has been signed and published in the Official Gazette, it is now in full effect and according to the government’s objectives it will be possible to implement it through the end of the year.

Unions: the fight ‘isn’t over’

The unions had already rejected the French president’s call for contacts in the Elysee with their joint statement in which they called, for the thirteenth time, on citizens to demonstrate and mobilize at their peak on May Day.

“This is not a defeat,” stressed FO general secretary Frédéric Soileau, noting that the Constitutional Council had rejected from the law the “carrot” of the law, arrangements that would have allowed pensioners to work. .

The issue of the work of retirees is evidence of the “unbalanced” nature of the reform and confirms “how fragile it is,” according to Sophie Binet, Secretary General of the General Trade Union Confederation. According to CFTC Chairman Cyril Champagne, “the law was poorly drafted and put into practice.”

“like a thief”

“Like thieves, Emmanuel Macron and his gang passed the pension law overnight. Because they know it well: what they have just done is a blow to democracy,” stressed the member of Rebellious France, François Ruffin, who emphasized that “this brutality shows, in fact, how weak they are. It’s already gone.”

“We are strong. We are the future. We are millions. And we will show it with a big crowd on the first of May.”

“But what a challenge! Disgust from Emmanuel Macron, because France is broken as always!”

“The law was enforced at night as thieves do. Thieves of our lives. May 1, 2023: Everyone is on the street,” tweeted Fabien Roussel, head of the French Communist Party.