🍎 🍕 Less apples, more pizza 🤔 Have you seen Buffett’s portfolio recently?Explore for Free

French PM offers to meet opposition, unions amid pension crisis

Published 26/03/2023, 20:29
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne attends debates and votes on two motions of no-confidence against the French government, tabled by centrist group Liot and far-right Rassemblement National party, after the use by French government of the

PARIS (Reuters) - French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne plans to meet with opposition leaders and trade unions in the hope of ending weeks of protests against a new pension law, her office said on Sunday.

Demonstrations against the pension reform, which will raise the retirement age by two years, turned violent after the government pushed through the legislation this month without a final parliamentary vote.

President Emmanuel Macron has ruled out scrapping or delaying the legislation, tasking his prime minister with finding fresh support in parliament after the government failed to find enough votes for the bill.

Borne will meet with political party leaders and also aims to restart dialogue with unions over labour issues, her office said, without mentioning the pension bill.

The prime minister added in an interview with AFP that the meetings with opposition and union leaders would take place in the week starting April 3.

She also pledged not to use constitutional powers to adopt legislation without a vote again except for on budget bills, AFP said.

It is unclear if the government's attempt to draw a line under the pension crisis will calm a majority of the public hostile to the reform and demonstrators exasperated by the adoption of the legislation without a final vote.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne attends debates and votes on two motions of no-confidence against the French government, tabled by centrist group Liot and far-right Rassemblement National party, after the use by French government of the article 49.3, a special clause in the French Constitution, to push the pensions reform bill through the National Assembly without a vote by lawmakers, at the National Assembly in Paris, France, March 20, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

Unions have scheduled a 10th day of nationwide protests against the pension law on Tuesday, after a previous day of action last Thursday saw the most violent clashes yet with police.

The head of the CFDT union, Laurent Berger, last week proposed that Macron pause the law for six months to seek a possible compromise.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.