Pension reform: how are ministers trying to save Emmanuel Macron?

The towel is burning more and more between the President of the Republic, the French, the opposition, but also the unions. Since January, a whole country has been clashing over the pension reform, with great blows of demonstrations, negotiations and endless debates. Despite weeks of protest in the streets, the French have not won their case with several hard blows dealt by the executive, from a forced passage thanks to article 49.3 to a rejection by the Constitutional Council of the shared initiative referendum launched by Nupes. In this deleterious context, the ministers are now seeking to save Emmanuel Macron from sinking. Explanations.

After several days of suspense, the Constitutional Council finally decided to validate the pension reform proposed by the executive. At the same time, he rejected the shared initiative referendum proposed by Nupes, which allowed Emmanuel Macron to promulgate the law as soon as possible with an almost immediate publication in the Official Journal. For the French, these latest decisions have further inflamed the rag that has been burning for weeks between angry workers and an inflexible executive.

As reported by BFMTV, the popularity rating of the President of the Republic is now in free fall, with an unfavorable opinion which amounts to 69%, an increase of five points compared to February, according to the barometer of the ‘Ipsos. Still according to the polling institute, the rate of very unfavorable opinions with regard to Emmanuel Macron has now reached 46%, which is the highest score reached since the crisis of yellow vests. At the same time, Marine Le Pen’s rating increases accordingly with 39% favorable opinions.

This Monday evening, the speech given by the President of the Republic again did not convince. As he tried to close the sequence of pension reform, Emmanuel Macron considered that this reform was “necessary” while claiming to “regret” that it was not “accepted” by the French.

The head of state, however, added that he heard the “anger” of the French by granting that “no one [could] remain deaf to this demand for social justice and the renovation of our democratic life”. Words that did not appease the spirits, if we are to believe the few demonstrations that punctuated the evening after the speech of the Head of State.

At the moment, Emmanuel Macron’s ministers are trying to rescue the President of the Republic, by defending the Head of State. This morning, Olivier Véran, spokesperson for the government, thus had the responsibility of reassuring the French as best as possible on the subject of taxes. Following him, Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy, spoke at the microphone of Apolline de Malherbe on BFM-RMC to recall that France had “growth that creates jobs”. He also announced a public debt reduction plan.

For his part, as notified by L’Indépendant, Gabriel Attal, the Minister of Public Accounts, mentioned the creation of a Marshall plan for the middle classes with the end of the housing tax, the reduction of the tax on income or tax exemption for overtime. Perspectives that could unblock a complex social climate.