The French are not weakening. While the executive wanted to see the mobilization lose momentum and the unions give in during their meetings with Elisabeth Borne, things did not go as planned. Despite a slight drop in the number of strikers on this 11th day of demonstrations, the unions continue to bang their fists on the table by planning a new date for mobilization on April 13. In this still tense context, the French support the movement, as shown by the results of a recent poll.
Between the executive and the unions, the rag is burning more than ever. While the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, as well as the government spokesperson, Olivier Véran, had shown themselves open to discussions, the meeting planned at Matignon did not make it possible to find common ground. This Wednesday, Elisabeth Borne received, in fact, the unions, but the discussion quickly ended, after an hour, with the departure of the union officials.
As Le Figaro reports, the unions have thus reaffirmed their refusal to “turn the page”, but also “to open other sequences” when the dialogue has failed to be established with the executive. Union officials have thus reiterated their request to withdraw from the reform, which the Prime Minister has refused. If the government was counting on this time for discussion to put an end to the debates around the pension reform, it was not possible to address the planned subjects, such as hardship at work.
During this meeting mentioned by our colleagues from Le Figaro, union officials thus castigated the “hard-line” of the executive. A position that the French seem to share if we are to believe the information from the latest poll carried out by Odoxa-Backbone for Le Figaro. Three quarters of supporters of La France insoumise (76%), as well as those of the National Rally (73%) thus evoke the total responsibility of the Prime Minister in this failure.
35% of respondents, for their part, believe that the fault is shared between Elisabeth Borne and the unions. More surprisingly, the supporters of the majority are also disappointed by this impossible agreement and are 45% to disavow the Prime Minister.
Today, 64% of French people continue to support the social movement, despite a two-point drop since March 30. A membership that remains high in the face of the duration of this social crisis. It is thus six out of ten French people who believe that this mobilization will be long-lasting.
For many of them, the deadline is now extended to April 14 with the final decision of the Constitutional Council, which could reshuffle the cards. Three quarters of the French therefore hope for total (55%) or partial censorship of the pension reform (43%) during this day which promises to be under high tension.
