The controversial pension reform largely fueled the Prime Minister’s interview on Tuesday morning, at the dawn of a new marathon of consultations with the social partners. At the microphone of Franceinfo, Elisabeth Borne discussed this project at length, distilling a few announcements.
“The age of 65 is not a totem”
The Prime Minister immediately recalled the challenge of the consultations over the next two days with the unions. “Discussions continue. The age of 65 is not a totem. There are other solutions that achieve our goal. We are continuing to discuss with employers’ organizations and unions. She assures us: “These consultations are useful (…) Each time, we listen to the questions, the observations, the remarks”.
Before adding: “We will not go after the 43 years of contributions provided for in the Touraine reform to have a full pension”. “When I hear people say we will have to work 47 or 48 years, it is false, ”she hammered. The Prime Minister repeats it: “The age of cancellation of the discount will not change: it will remain at 67”.
A presentation on January 23
Incidentally, the head of government also recalled the timetable for the reform, with “entry into force at the end of this summer”. “Our objective is the presentation of the reform on January 10 before a presentation in the Council of Ministers on January 23 for entry into force at the end of the summer”, she detailed.
According to the Prime Minister, “there will be a debate” on extending an increase to current retirees. She says she considers the minimum pension of 1,200 euros a “priority”. “My priority is that it is the active people who will have to work a little longer who benefit from this revaluation”, she insisted.
Reform of unemployment insurance: a draft decree withdrawn
Another subject, a draft decree which modified the rules of compensation had been unveiled just before Christmas. The latter provided for a 40% reduction in the duration of compensation in the event of unemployment below 6%. This provision had angered unions and political opposition, especially on the left.
“I hear that this point may not have been sufficiently discussed, so we are going to withdraw it, this third level of the decree which will come into force on February 1, and we will put this subject back in the consultation on the future rules of unemployment insurance,” said the Prime Minister. Elisabeth Borne repeated her “priority”, namely “full employment”. “There is clearly a red line for us: not to increase the cost of labor”, she further justified.
An inflation peak expected at the start of the year
The head of government also returned to concerns about the purchasing power of the French. “We will have an inflationary peak at the beginning of the year, before seeing this trend drop,” she said, before recalling the aid panel set up by the government. “We will maintain a price shield for gas and electricity. Without state aid, it would have been a doubling of the bills, ”she says. And to add: “We will continue to protect households, particularly the most modest. »
“I hear the concern of companies who see prices rising a lot [concernant les factures énergie]. That’s why we put in place aid. However, few companies have already taken advantage of this aid. They are perhaps not sufficiently known, we have our share of responsibility. We must all together make this aid known, ”underlines the Prime Minister.
Help for businesses in difficulty
The Prime Minister also asked the energy sector “to allow companies that are in difficulty to spread the payment of invoices over the first months of the year”.
Hit hard by the increase in energy prices, the bakers, who must be received at Bercy in the morning, will also be able to “request the postponement of the payment of their taxes and social security contributions” to relieve their cash flow, indicates- she. Beyond that, she assured that the prefectures would be mobilized to study the difficulties that would remain “on a case-by-case basis”.
The Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire and the Minister Delegate for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Olivia Grégoire are to bring together representatives of the bakery sector “to discuss the consequences of the energy crisis”.