French unions silence rumors of a breakup and set conditions for the dialogue proposed by Macron

French unions have the intention to continue the protest against the pension reform, with a new day of mobilization June 6and put conditions for dialogue proposed by the Government, which is thus trying to turn the page of the serious social and political crisis the country is going through. The unions are trying to silence rumors about the collapse of the action unity due to the different strategies of the headquarters in view of the appointment that the prime minister will initiate in the coming days. Elisabeth Bornetalk about different aspects of work, but not about moving the retirement age to 64.

In a joint statement published this Tuesday, eight union headquarters and five student organizations want to show that they will remain united in rejecting the reform, reports Efe. In addition to complaining that the Government has not set the framework or goal of the consultation cycle that it says it wants to open, they warn that they intend to recall “their rejection of the pension reform” approved and proclaimed by the Parliament on April 15. First of all, they announce that they will make joint proposals, also addressed to companies, “in order to concerns of workers“especially in terms of wages, working conditions, health, social democracy, equality between men and women and the environment”.

The line of consensus emerging from yesterday’s videoconference meeting of union leaders includes direct criticism of President Emmanuel Macron for “maintaining his reform despite the almost unanimous opposition of the population” and the announcement that this “creates deep distrust”. In this regard, they condemn that “those authoritarian decisions add a democratic crisis to the crisis of society” and confirm that they have always refused to “give in to these provocations”.

More than 400 police officers were injured

As for the riots that broke out during some of their May Day parades, what resulted 406 police officers were injured and 61 protesters, which led to the arrest of 540 people, the unions point out.

They assure that they have always defended “peaceful, solemn and popular mobilization, despite incidents in some serious cases that we regret”. Of the 305 people arrested on Monday, 258 were officially detained on Tuesday.