Macron acknowledges the social response to pension reform, but defends dialogue

This Thursday, Emmanuel Macron tried to turn the page on the pension reform by presenting the program 50 measures to combat drought during a visit to the marshes in Savines le Lac, in the French Alps. But in his first exit from the Elysée in two months, the president had to obey cries of “resignation” started by two hundred people.

Tension was evident during the visit, with some police efforts to clear the route the presidential motorcade had to take and the arrest of two protesters. Macron was open. “There are 200 protesters, but This does not mean that the Republic has to stop »he assured a group of journalists, pointing out that the pension reform must not paralyze the other challenges the country is facing.

Macron admitted it “There is a social response” to his plan to raise the retirement age to 64, but defended dialogue as a way to resolve current differences, pending an appointment between the Government and the unions next week. The latter count on the continuation of strikes and demonstrations, and the next ones are scheduled for April 6.

He added that the opponents of his reform have democratic channels for its abolition, the same ones, as he said, that he used to push it through parliamentary procedures. In front of them, he condemned the violent acts that marred the protests and accused some political leaders to legitimize them, seeking to distinguish radicals from others.

As an example, he cited the protests last Saturday in holy salt against an artificial reservoir for agricultural irrigation that led to a fierce battle with the police, which left two protesters in a coma. “There were thousands of people who just went to war,” he showed.