Pension reform: François Bayrou warns the executive against any “forced passage” – Le Monde

François Bayrou, June 21, 2022 at the exit of the Elysée. CYRIL BITTON / DIVERGENCE FOR “THE WORLD” Speaking before the prefects gathered at the Elysee Palace on Thursday, September 15, Emmanuel Macron assured that the government would carry out the pension reform. The executive has indicated that a reform could take place, including via the Social Security financing bill (PLFSS) presented on September 26 in the Council of Ministers, debated in committee at the National Assembly then from September 20 October in the hemicycle at first reading. In an interview published by Le Parisien, Saturday September 17, François Bayrou, the boss of the MoDem, reputed to be close to the president, warns the executive. “I am opposed to the passage in force. If we embark on this path, then we are sure to first unite the oppositions between them, then to divide French society, ”warned Mr. Bayrou, calling for taking “the time for pedagogy”. “A few months should be enough to arrive at a solution,” he said. The President of the Republic has said that he wants the reform for the summer of 2023? With this method, with joint preliminary work, I am convinced that it can be adopted as early as the summer of 2023.” Reform interrupted by the pandemic Emmanuel Macron has decided to relaunch the pension reform, which had been put in place pause by the Covid-19 during the first five-year term. ” [C’]is a reform that is necessary “because it is necessary to” work longer in a nation where we live longer and we return later on average in the working life “, in particular repeated Thursday the Head of State. Mr. Macron had pledged during the presidential campaign to “shift the legal age of departure up to 65 years”, against 62 currently, at the rate of “four months a year” until the “mid-2030s”. It is no longer necessarily a question of such a postponement, but in particular of an extension of the contribution period. This reforming ambition targets opposition and divides, including within the majority, at a time when Mr. Macron has launched his National Council for Refoundation (CNR), which must give pride of place to in-depth consultation with political forces. , unions and associations. “The passage in force, it is the opposite of the spirit of the CNR which claims to examine the problems together”, underlined Mr. Bayrou, named at the head of this structure. A rapid reform, “I believe that this would indeed create a bad climate and would prove right all those who announce the failure of the CNR”, he pleads again. “It is a reform that cannot be done around an amendment,” continues Mr. Bayrou, highlighting “a real risk” of a motion of censure. “I would add that if the French feel that their voice does not count, we will find ourselves in a climate of extreme tension, with risks of blockage and rapid failure of the period we are living in”, he warns again. . Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers Emmanuel Macron tenses his camp by wanting to accelerate the pension reform Le Monde with AFP