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Bloomberg
French President Emmanuel Macron signaled willingness to “improve†his pension reform plan on Wednesday in an effort to end a standoff with unions that showed no sign of abating.
Strikes that have gummed up the public transportation system, leaving millions to work out alternative ways of getting around, enter their third week on Thursday, with a fresh poll showing that support for the protests is growing.
Union leaders met with French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe on Wednesday, with some remaining unconvinced ahead of further multilateral talks planned on Thursday. The head of the far-left CGT union, Philippe Martinez, repeated demands for Macron to abandon his pension plan following what he described as a 10-minute meeting with Philippe. “The longer the strike goes on, the more anger transforms itself into something else,†Martinez told reporters. “They can’t afford to hang about because the situation is complicated for them.†The government is seeking a truce during the holiday period to enable people to travel over Christmas but a group of unions including the CGT has called for further strikes and demonstrations through the end of the year unless Macron backs down.
While Macron’s government has barreled through reforms of tax and labor laws, the current gridlock shows how deeply the French are wedded to their pension system. Reforming it is the crown jewel of Macron’s effort to modernize the country by merging 42 separate pension regimes into one universal points-based system.