The head is already after. While a new day of inter-union mobilization is scheduled for this Saturday, February 11 against the pension reform, the general secretary of the CGT, Philippe Martinez, has already estimated that “there (was) a need for there to be more strikes”.
“We are discussing with the employees and we will see how it continues”, he explained on Europe 1 this Friday morning. For now, two new mobilization dates have been announced: February 16 and March 7. For the rest, “nothing is decided, we continue to discuss it today”, assured the union representative, specifying that information on the subject would be revealed tomorrow before the demonstration.
“We are counting on the spirit of responsibility of the President of the Republic and of the government so that we are not forced to amplify strikes”, he continued, thus responding to a statement by Emmanuel Macron during the night. , who assured “to be able to count on the spirit of responsibility” of the unions so that the challenge does not block “the life of the rest of the country”.
Emmanuel Macron “anachronistic” for Berger
“When there is such discontent in the country and we have the spirit of responsibility, we listen to it”, continued Philipe Martinez on Europe 1. Faced with a dispute of this magnitude, “either we listen, or we tries to force through with the risk that it may entail of a hardening of the movement, ”he warned.
VIDEO. Strikes against pension reform: Macron is counting on the “spirit of responsibility” of the unions
Invited on France info a few minutes later, the secretary general of the CFDT, Laurent Berger, also responded to the words spoken by Emmanuel Macron from Brussels, where he is traveling for a European Summit. “It’s anachronistic. Have we not demonstrated our responsibility? We didn’t do the job from the start? “, he wondered, recalling that the days of mobilization had all taken place in peace.
“Demonstrating peacefully is the time for democracy,” continued the union official, responding to another statement by the Head of State, who explained overnight from Thursday to Friday that he wanted “that work can continue in Parliament” because “that is how democracy should work.
For Laurent Berger, “simply taking note” of the protest movement is “a profound error”. But he, however, felt that the debate on Article 7 (the one shifting the retirement age) had to take place in the National Assembly. “It will change the lives of workers. If the parliament itself does not talk about it, it is a real problem”, he insisted, asking the government not to “just play for time”.