Macron is inflexible on the question of pensions

To end his visit to the United States, Emmanuel Macron chose to speak… to the French. In an interview with the TF1 television channel this Saturday, the President of the Republic returned to the hot topics in France. In the first line, energy insecurity. France, faced with EDF’s difficulties in restarting its nuclear reactors shut down for maintenance, is worried about the onset of winter. “Don’t panic”, explains the president during the interview, adding that by lowering our consumption by 10%, the country should get through the winter without too much difficulty.

The dispatch system “in danger”

Another hot topic is pension reform, the bill of which is due to be presented in mid-December. While negotiations with the social partners are coming to an end, Emmanuel Macron, in the footsteps of Elisabeth Borne on Friday, affirms that he will go to the end of the reform. For the moment, there is no precise indication of the legal age of departure, which the Head of State wants to lower.

It would be, according to his campaign commitments, a priori up to 65 years of age. But the unions do not despair of lowering it, in particular by playing on the contribution period. “We must carry out this reform”, nevertheless insists the head of state. “I’ll tell you why. Because if we don’t, we leave the pay-as-you-go pension system in jeopardy.”

“We have room”

“All the serious studies show it. And so, the only lever we have is to work a little longer. And it turns out that when we compare France with all its neighbors, we have a margin”, he adds.

In addition to raising the legal retirement age, the bill also provides for a minimum pension of 85% of the net minimum wage, or €1,200, as well as the abolition of special schemes for new entrants. Emmanuel Macron, open to discussion with the unions, considers at the same time to have made this reform a campaign argument and that the subject is therefore decided with his re-election last April.